the love counselor & the star dressing-room
by Christopher Mulrooney
[ poetry - june 11 ]
the love counselor
Bartleby said or was it Bartlett
that the fat pig in the market rolls away
in the fat pig donut market
with all the turkeys he can eat
and don’t pay whereas I jab and jab and jab
with my little golden arrow
and it hurts like a sumbitch
therefore ladies said he a lesson taken
a big fat prescription for you now
take two and a stiff one right before eating
at your favorite diner bar and grill
restaurant drive-in drive-thru or carry-out
on the credit card or bank card or coupon deal or gift certificate or cash
the star dressing-room
the talcum powder rises from her vanity table
as she puffs
the folder lies open her photographs nude
and the space between her legs measured as proportion
wonders as miracles performs
there cannot be the critics say
an ounce of pretense in that lily-livered proposition
why the sun so painted so atrociously figured
above the wings descends on cue
to provide the setting and the ocean
in the pit the orchestra plays on and on and on and on and on
the lights play across her face a maze of
lights
and colored gels that trim the fancy
of a thousand gents and more a thousand thousand
not forgetting the halcyon days
the unforgettable days before triumph
afterwards the cold backstage area is private
with the secret knowledge
and looks guilty there
come in from the light
Maud and reckless be
none to watch
the fitful cares
of the director's precision
