House of Mirth

Welcome to the house of mirth

where the carpet is woven of a thousand

quips per inch, how rich

let your satin slippers shuffle

and like sparks the wit will rise

between you and all this hungry crowd

with their slick skin almost bursting

through the double stitched seams

as their well fed guts wobble with droll rhythm

because despite it all they are hungry

and so are you, so sit a while

press the chilled glass against your lips

and let the flippance flow

Take the quick flick of eyebrow

and flip the allusion back around the room

if he catches it so much the better

to bat it back with a twist of the lip

and a finger twitch to play with words

what a toy (a joy) they are

Let the light and shadow dance

tell the story of what she said

and how he looked

and how they howl, the hungry crowd

pushing up against each other

prodding with their elbows to find

if the others are laughing as hard as they

you and all the others

in this shining house of mirth

pushed up against each other with their slick sweat skin

and then roaring laughs with the hunger groan beneath

and if the wit runs dry

and silence encroaching streteches it's hot hands

have no fear for here in the house of mirth

the gilt frames are all empty

and we have been careful to pick all the pieces

each shard of mirror glass

is safely gone

So laugh on.