SCANDALOUS
You can put me aside in a jar, in a bottle.
Cover my head up with alcohol water.
Tag an inscription – preferably Latin -
Specimen N.23, Gender: Female, Lunaticus Verbatim.
You can cut me in phrases before friends at a party
Serve little pieces of me with the champagne glasses
“Oh yes . . . THAT woman!!! A vampire!!! A psyche!!!
I can tell you a story. I know you will like it.”
You can spill me across an ocean of papers.
Throw in photos of me lying drunk, beautiful, naked.
Use maquillage dummies for real demonstrations
& feed the thirsty crowd its euphoria rations.
You can use to abuse me perhaps a million daggers,
gas-chamber sarcasm, confessions by lovers,
arm-lengths of gossip, a brimful of poison . . .
I’ll endure it all in an atmosphere of ozone.
But when the show’s over, the experiment finished-
do me a favor. Don’t reach over the limit.
As I enter in person to face my Mephisto,
don’t twitter delighted: “Enchanted to meet you!”
