Something and Nothing

I,
The sum of all ifs and buts,
The space monkey
Shot into the stars,
Strum my banjo
And bellow daft songs…
I,
The crocodile god,
The sex policeman
With fur-lined handcuffs,
Ballet-dance in silence
Out of sight,
Out of mind…
And have you heard
That filigree of music
Sounding and resounding
Through spirals of time?
And have you seen
That translucent icon
Shining in and out
Of indigent eyes?
I must have met you a thousand times
In other lives,
We must have passed one another
Without recognition.
From the bust of Nefertiti
To the Mona Lisa’s smile
I sacrifice to the artifice
Of the strange female.
By the ten fingers of my hands
I swear fealty to the stars,
And menstruate mad love
Like Saint Teresa of Avila.
No,
You do not see me,
Do not know me,
Nor I you,
Ignorance is all we share
Through disfigured days,
And no Second Coming
Interrupts our routines…
I see the purple cloaks
Of the Spanish Inquisition,
Here they come,
Notebooks in hand…
“Justice must be served!
Bring out the heretics,
The Satanists,
The witches!
Bring out the funny-looking people!”
Too late now, perhaps,
To master the piano,
But even to play the triangle in an orchestra,
That would be something…
Other lives, other talents,
Compel imagination,
Tantalise with glimpses
Of glories unknown,
But the dwarf in my head
Hisses “Stick to your last!”
So I stick to my last,
Stick fast.
Lifting the sangria glass,
I remember the voice
Of the master:
“It can illuminate,
But it can burn.”