“Clownish Death” © Edward Michael Supranowicz
Theater
I want to see a naked prodigy playing the piano
With his cock draped on his thigh sly and slovenly
While he fingers the keys
An inelegantly receding hairline
As he hits the ossia and closes his eyes
I want the ivory to sweat like goat cheese
Sandy under paper towel on a July beach
I want it all in my ears, but I want him
Shoeless and stinking and poor
If I see a tuxedo I will hiss like a demon
That just saw Christ forcibly enter his home
Forcibly enter his sister, goading the crowd to join in
The community agreeing with it, approving
Of the way that today turns gracefully into
Tomorrow, the way the stores close for human
Sleeps and consumer wakes, the pursed lip
Overly serious faces of expired minds watching
A man hammer ivory with his claws
Dressed formally and unironically to perform
And spectate in kind, tacit charade in this ancient
Pretend land, puff pastry waste of time
The keys fitting snug in some lock, some
Horrible compromise
Jake Onyett is a U.S. Navy veteran who was born in Canada, raised in the United States, and currently lives in Italy. He is a graduate of Niagara University, the University of Texas at Austin, and the University of Bologna. When not writing poetry, Jake can be found seated and working, hiking in the Alps with his family, exclusively reading non-fiction for extended periods before exclusively reading fiction for longer periods, or plotting future meals.
Edward Michael Supranowicz is the grandson of Irish and Russian/Ukrainian immigrants. He grew up on a small farm in Appalachia. He has a grad background in painting and printmaking. Some of his artwork has recently or will soon appear in Fish Food, Streetlight, Another Chicago Magazine, The Door Is A Jar, The Phoenix, and The Harvard Advocate. Edward is also a published poet who has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize multiple times.