shot glass
title
"... brevity is the soul of wit ..."
- William Shakespeare

Nancy E. Allen


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Muted

The clown-faced mime on the sidewalk draws a crowd.
He follows some people who pass him by, mimics their gait,
the expression on their faces. We laugh because we're glad
it's not us he mocks. Though he pretends to be trapped in a box
(watch him press his hands against air as if walls surround him)
we are the ones who are trapped. This angry clown holds us
captive lest he cull us from the crowd one by one to ridicule.
Look how small I am escaping, watch him loom at my back.