Introducing his lovely assistant
Sequin dress and smiling mouth
From his tuxedo sleeve he pulls a Rose
Presents it to the smiling girl
And bows to the audience who revel, ecstatic, at this small miracle.
He plucks behind her ear and finds another rose,
Another, in the crook of her elbow,
Behind her knee,
All the soft places he touches and drags Flower and thorn from the skin
And the lovely assistant: bleeding, smiling
The audience is in awe.
For his next trick, he tips his hat
A picture of chivalry, a gentleman’s gesture
And blooming from his head is the dove
Off-white and malnourished, eyes wide and fearful
Fleeing the scene like smoke from a burning house
The audience is clapping and roaring and howling
And a silence descends
For his final act, calling on his assistant
With her clipped wings and blossoming body,
He cuts the girl in half
Desecrates and diminishes her
Does it with a flourish and a sweeping of his hand
Makes her less than what her mother made her
And the crowd, cheering, screaming
Leaping from their seats
He takes a bow
And the world is a stage