Performance Poem by Sophie Nixon

Where the wild men romp
the savages masquerade
Hero, villain, wise old woman
play the eternal charade

Dance, celestial dance
Together, apart, together once more
and on to the next
we all know the score

Faces watch faces
with an absence of eyes
Who knows what hides
beneath their disguise

Shining veneer
hold face's reflection
bearing painted smiles
for their protection

Hidden behind Sophia
masked by her grace
The weary, weary pressure
of her weight upon my face

She drags down my gaze
to the shadow at my feet
dancing to the beat
of my own defeat

Bound to my shadow partner
to lead me in the dance
enveloped in her swirling cloak
she holds me in a trance

Melpomene in a tragic mask
singing sweet despond
swallows me in a darkness
I cannot see beyond