Caught In The Take

Smoke. Clear morning sky.
A smear of black on blue
Defines the color of pain
While defying the normal eye
That refuses to blink in a world
Reduced to quick stabbing awe,
Surreal as manikins thrown
Off tall buildings in a b-grade movie,
Flailing clumsily; and cheaply.

But this is not a movie,
It is an a-grade horror
Where the manikins are
Real life extras caught in the take,
And the special effect is death.
Nothing is cheap or fake
Except this pathetic attempt
By terror to sprout wings and
Fly like innocent angels — Cut!

Fashion Blow Over the Rainbow

“Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.”

— The Great & Powerful Oz

After the show,
After the sprightly glide down the yellow brick runway,
After the maneuverings of smoke and mirrors,
After the designer dream lights,
After the beautiful people,
After the barrage of bouncing cloth unraveled,
After the esoteric theme comes clamoring on monkey’s wings
After all this misguided whimsy,

Comes the horse of a different color…

Emerging from behind the scenes
Wearing nothing of his godly design.
This wizard, so human in appearance,
Sports merely a Spartan look and modest smile:
No lion. No tiger. No bear… Just shy.

Greg Braquet hails from New Orleans and describes himself as young poet in an old container. He is married and has three children — Four, if you count his hyperactive muse. His poetry has appeared in such publications as The New Laurel Review, THEMA, The Tap Root Review, Lucid Moon, Desire Street, Sour Grapes, Pedestal Magazine, Pierian Springs, Tryst, Side Reality, Muse Apprentice Guild, The Delirium Journal, The Junket, and The Little Green Tricycle.

Copyright 2003, Greg Braquet. This work is protected under the U.S. copyright laws. It may not be reproduced, reprinted, reused, or altered without the expressed written permission of the author.