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After the Overture (for Jen)

It's only a one-cat circus
parked by the river where
a small brass band plays
a sprightly overture
as latecomers straggle in:
'Ladies and Gentlemen!
For your edification and enjoyment ...'

You're on the highwire still
while I whip-up a laugh
with my rednose and bucket
of confetti, honking horn
and outsize shoes.
Spotlight sequins dazzle the crowd,
your long fishnet legs
scissor-kick above
a shoal of admirers -

but they don't see
the clown and the trapeze girl
away from the sawdust and canvas
in a show of our own
doing balancing tricks
and laughing at our own
late-night pillowtalk
with a cryptic cat
and no safety-net




Andrew
21/6/2006
Bassendean