He saw the world in burlesque,
light dancing upon the stage
The great blue fanning ocean
and rainbow colored pastie orbs
Caught between the music and the
shadow of the extreme
The curtain falling deftly marking
the beginning and the end

His dreams left to wander
search the darkness for a home
To strip off their makeup and surrender
what tomorrow will disdain
Where back in the footlights all chaos
and disorder will bawdily remask
Teasing what fantasy hides in fear
—as an Angel sheds its wings

(The New Room: November, 2021)