The "Night"

The “night” falls sharply
like cheddar or a knife with
no handle, keys or lid, switch
blading, daring to be caught;

boils like pasta water over
flowing the pot, overboiling like
“Charybdis” or the other
one, whatever it’s called;

sails by slowly, painfully even,
a boat with no wind, “rain” on
the horizon, the sun beating
heads like a hammer nails;

sings a song (piano, upright
bass, horns accompanying), on stage,
“hundreds” of people in
attendance, rapt or bored;

acts on a stage off-off-off-
Broadway, cheeses for the camera,
puts on sideshows for spare
change, rolls over, plays “dead.”