He steps forward coyly, a sneer on his face
Swaying he removes his high hat
Gawkily bows and burnishes his clasps
The crowd is perplexed as he stands awkwardly
He waits for a moment, nothing more
And drops his mouth till his lips dangle
Just above his misshapen knees
Tenebrous smog begins to creep
From his jowl and wriggles across the stage
Filling the wooden cracks in search
Until the innocent are found and smothered
Till death does it part
It weeps down the stage
Relishing the triumph against humanity
The gas asphyxiates the crowd
Yet they still sit in amazement
Inhaling the fumes till intoxication
Until another rises
In his blighted burgundy suit
Crippled, he pulls himself onto the stage
His contorted leg twitching in discomfort
Trembling he raises and glances at his adversary
Cracking his knuckles, he stands
Hunched over in his own demons
Mocking the other, who stands rigid
Covered in radiation, his mouth too does drop
Chin brushing the dusty planks
And a splendid assortment of rare jewels clink and clank
Against his teeth and continue their erratic journey until they rest
On the dusty planks, their colors absorbed by light and wood
His brow is filmed in sweat, his eyes yellow and bloodshot
Final stand, his mouth yearns to say, but knows
That there is never and end to his fight
He gathers his drooping mouth in his arms
And turns once more to say in a solicitous manner
“Those who wish to obtain the jewels must first
Relinquish the poison”
Then with some newfound strength
He bounds off the stage flailing his arms,
Tripping over his own bones
Until all are left to choose
To continue their dangerous game of poison
Or to obtain the rich jewels once offered to them
So which?