Escape Artist

Aug 25 2012

Well practised

in the arts

of misdirection, distraction

the fugitive act.

So all that lasts

is the after-image

that persists

on the light-sensitive retina,

the flash

of recognition

burned into the eye.

Seen best

in darkness.

If the measure of art

is posterity,

artefact

as legacy,

then all he has is subterfuge,

their acquiescence

and credulity.

You can slip away

under cover of night,

vanish

into anonymity,

but never leave yourself behind.

You will always outlast

the abracadabra

and sleight-of-hand.

Even your best act

of deception,

the performance of your life.