lucifer goes to the circus

his beard stands out straggly from the white panstick, his eyebrows and lips marked, outlined in black ink, his smile grotesque. he grinned to the sounds of the accordion and the brass trumpet, tambourine drums and bells clattering. he danced with the acrobats, the dancers, the horses, the damned.

he opened his cloak, velveteen if stained, and beckoned the prettiest girls into his embrace. they do not seem to mind his yellowed teeth, nor cloven feet. they do not seem to mind the dark tapestry he weaves, their hair meshing together, a living sculpture, he stands back and regards his tormented handiwork, the circus creatures writhe against one another whilst he rolls his battered top hat betwixt his fingers.

silver hoops weigh down his earlobes, from his hair two gnarled formations sprout. his gaze his feral, his body infernal. he spits yiddish phrases in absentia, grinning still from ear to ear. his magic making done, he retires, looking more mortal than ever, shoulders slumped and shuffle tramplike. he gazes mistily at the night's devilry, then shuts his eyelids, and looks no more.

cecily