splat

it's a cartoon
an elephant perched precariously
on a red and yellow striped beach ball
ready to splat a sucker clown
the instant it's tickled with a feather

but is it the elephant or the beach ball
producing all the ruckus
when the beach ball bursts
spraying the crowd with pink confetti
elephant flab echoing off the canvas

all the while,
Calliope belts out a loud chorus
stone tablets littered at her feet

 

 

 

 

Here rise to life again, dead poetry!
Let it, O holy Muses, for I am yours,
And here Calliope, strike a higher key,
Accompanying my song with that sweet air
which made the wretched Magpies feel a blow
that turned all hope of pardon to despair
— Dante, "Purgatorio", Canto II, lines 7 to 12