CANTO 78 The hungry stroller stares
T
he hungry stroller staresat the row of varnished shells,
None is what it appears,
the con-men are the shills.
The two-headed fat lady fire-eater
dwarfs the sensible real.
The act’s a trifle shady,
but the barker believes the spiel.
To leap outside the trap of stripes
gives the tiger pause.
She reads as the keeper types,
purrs at the hidden clause.
Weightless in a cloud of spangles!
The big top’s a spinning wheel.
The acrobat tumbles to the moment,
her fingers close on steel.
No flaw without desire,
What better form to grasp?
The key adjusts the tightwire,
the lock swings free in the hasp.