The Velvet Throat Darkness Poem by Robert Rorabeck

Vaudeville of kindergarten love all to put on
A puppet show to the trained animals in the dark;
But the dark is such a beautiful species for
Those inclined to weather bad scars:
Species can be their own things in the dark-
They can be whole with shadows, and make friends of
Every bleeding part;
And mothers can be lovers, and widows can have sailors;
And those spaces where you’d think you cry alone,
They are filled up with the minerals of unholy cheer-
And you can swing her around in the cloudy park,
And catch the flinty glances of her satanic eyes on
The cheap merry-go-rounds, and you can pick up one
End of the earth and fold it back as if inviting her
To bed-
And if you can fail you can blame it on another beast,
For there are an infinite number of animals just like you
Shot and wounded and buying unwholesome bouquets
To give to the dark velvet throated darkness.