He transcribed the future,
wrote out divergent scripts,
anticipated variant readings.
So when the time arrived
to shape the conversation,
he’d sound natural and sincere.
Secure behind his masks,
these prompt books he’d perform
with eloquence and grace.
Each dance manifesting a moment
conjured obsessively in the past
to secure a posited present:
phrase foreshadowing phrase forever,
words as armor against others’ words.
(June 14, 2016)
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