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grin/grimace...:

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slip into splits
that grin on your lips
arms finish with a flourish
the bells that jingle crazily
tinkling madly, match your
laughter

they see your joker,
i see your face
the grin that splits your lips
from side to side
you give your act the final
twist

an illusion, you call it
as you spin on the floor,
body moving, sinuous flow
the tails of your jacket flapping with your
speed

and there it is,
your final trick, hips catch
knees graze across the floor,
a crack snaps across the room and your laughter dies on
your grimacing lips
the pain, your face is a canvas for it
the brush and paints in the hands of
fate

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you were getting old, your tricks were going
cold.