The Whip Hand
Believing in the possibility of showtime
on the move,
that the sound of circus music blaring
from the speakers on the roof
means more
than silver in my pocket, pegs to hammer home,
I stake out another pitch and flatten grass:
for what?
The cheers, the hollow gasps, the silence
as I place my head inside each
lion’s mouth.
It’s not the teeth, the jaws I fear but seeing
deep into their eyes, each pupil blank
as every pitch
we quit, lifeless as the ground we pack so hard.
Brian Johnstone’s latest collection is The Book of Belongings (Arc, 2009). His work has appeared throughout Scotland and in the UK, America and Europe. He is a co-founder of StAnza: Scotland’s International Poetry Festival and was Festival Director from 2001-2010.