the entertainer (last show)

he smiled

showed teeth

as he performed

first
juggling

small batons
three

four

lit
and thrown

and caught

over and again

a fiery pinwheel
returned
by hand
to the air

returned
via parabola
to hand

then
the longer pole

lit
at both ends

dancing

leaping

he
and his flames
in accord

mesmerizing the night
with the fluidity
of their movements

the growl
of the flames
as they were whirled

finally
swallowing

the flame ball
into
his mouth

a fireball
puffed
blown
back into the air

again

again

and lastly
truly
lastly

he burned

~

Poem #416 from a series of poems drawn from the imagination and collected as: a Bachelard reverie.