Tableaux Vivant
a rise of earth
raised, round
circular
a fall of silk
scraped, raw
circumferent
and
below
The Mosh
dirt floor filled
carpenters, mechanics
butcher and cart drivers
Bowery Boys
all, dressed
beyond
the nines
stove pipe hats
(brushed thin beaver)
over greased hair
(reverse Mullet)
reflect the sulphurous
stage light, while high-
heeled boots stand
strong straight
legs
bound
fast
in tight black cloth,
their only colour the
Red
of shirts they can
not
afford
and
above
The Circle
satin-lined
boxes
entomb the elite
Irving and Jackson
Adams and Tyler
Luminaries
all, weighed
down
with wives
silk legs of mutton
(opalesce and brocade)
translucent shoulders
(diamonds and pearls)
glitter in shadows
un
moving
the Antebellum
lower
east side of a
city
not quite
but almost
all together
Await
the arrival of
The Star
his grotesqueries
(drink, madness)
forgotten
(if not forgiven)
by the carmine
gloss
of his glistening lips
by the hare’s foot
dust
of his powdered face
by the resounding
roar
of his Richard
never to be
heard
again
©s rogers, 14 november 2011
