It’s an ugly circus, to leave you again.
It’s a carnival act: bound, chained
underwater in a glass tank, near-drowned,
I’ve gotten free. I’m incredible.
I’ve gotten so good I’m terrible.
Bring on the elephants, their great legs hobbled.
Bring on a lion, I’ll feed it my head.
Bring a small scrap of paper to wipe up the blood.
I’ll hang myself from the high wire, nude…
Once you loved me, but walked away.
Once was too often, for a girl like me—
Since then I’ve made you pay and pay.
Don’t call me, ever. I’ll tell you I’m sorry.
Don’t call me, I tell you; it’s boring, boring
always to leap to the end of the story.
And this is the end. I’m leaving town.
This is the end: the tents torn down,
the animals making caged animal sounds.
Kim Addonizio
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment