you came to me in a dream
where I saw you unraveling
piece by piece
a ball of string

till you got to the core
and found it empty
save for a tiny sign
on which was painted

four little words
YOU ARE NOT HERE
and we both had a good laugh
over that

but then you pulled out
your map to nowhere
and pointed to a spot a city
called Futility

and you asked me
if I would take you there
and you offered me a daisy
plucked petal-free

you told me that the petals
didn't have anything to say
worth hearing
so you ate them

but the evidence
you tried to hide
is now a part of you
gloriously incongruously

so the dog and pony show was cute
till the pony got too old
and had to be led
to the slaughterhouse

where the dog that once
rode her in the show
now had to be the one
to pull the trigger

put it out of its misery
but then the dog
put the gun to his own head
and took himself out of the game

so he could join the pony
so they could be together
and make the children laugh again
for another show