The Woman In The Box Poem by Kerry Jackson Kay

This poem compares three instances across history of women expected to submit themselves as dutiful, beautiful and utterly powerless sacrifices brought about by patriarchal systems - an immolated sati, a beheaded courtesan and a magician's assistant sawn in half. Although the latter of this trio at least gets to be resurrected (ready to be bisected all over again during the next performance) , the parallel as she steps grinning into the box in order to benefit the preening blade-wielding magician who employs her was hard to resist.
The final line came from an interview I recall with a magician's assistant (I think it was Moi-Yo Miller) who when asked about her billing on the magic show poster replied, 'I'm 'And Company''.