—after Max Beckmann’s painting

they have to live together
there’s not enough room
the angry guy peeping over his newspaper
with a resentful glare
guarding something no one wants
maybe his helpless stoicism

the Tarot reader reclining like a courtesan in repose
a million miles away
looking right through you

the Mussolini-jawed lion-tamer with his whip
sitting formally & stiff

the acrobat climbing a ladder
trying to escape through the roof

the dwarf carrying a lantern
a flame in it like a trapped canary

shadowy tigers in their black cage
tossing eyes like dice

it’s a crash pad for circus performers
who have come to hate each other
but are stuck together
roaming a hostile planet
during war time
taking grim refuge in the color of the world
no one'll pay to come and see