down watercourses the overture in F
which is the Thames in all its glory
and upon it the King’s party
making merry as the fashion is considered
all in cascading trills Boulez conducting
petunia
in a vase of some aspect reflecting the light
across its surface as a blot of daintiness
upon its flowered symbols and representations
marking time as it were for the bud to open
and cast its aroma amid gadgets and furnishings
defeat and failure
the 1st gentleman of all Europe
prismatic waistcoat white silken trousers
and an eyepiece yes it is the demm’d
elusive Pimpernel I swear it is true
rolling a barrel of monkeys for you
Christopher Mulrooney is the author of toy balloons (Another New Calligraphy), Rimbaud (Finishing Line Press), and alarm (Shirt Pocket Press). His work has recently appeared in San Francisco Salvo, riverbabble, Dink Mag, Clementine Poetry Journal, and Blue Lotus Review.
