11th Annual Juried Reading Finalist

Caryl Pagel of Chicago, Illinois

Caryl Pagel will complete her MFA at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago this spring. She currently works at the Illinois Arts Council and is a reader for Another Chicago Magazine. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Elixir, DIAGRAM, and Octopus Magazine.

PROP

Here under the light I
great perform
my I, I great perform

to wolves in wait
despite the lies that lie
on fate. A mask appears

against my mind
not far from howling
guards. You say

there is no such scene
as this. No audience.
No wolves.

How yesterday did I
then find a rotting tarot
card, grown

from a stalk within
our monster-sprouting
yard? XVIII: The Moon-

it read- Bearer
of Illusion. From the card I tear
a face

not to set the stage
but wear it. The real
void- the real void

not an empty room
but hiding
in my mouth. Wretched

howls the faming act
at my public task
unable. I lose

my lines- silence
cues the props to carry
forth. In echo

objects fill
the room. Allow
no feint performance.

© 2005 The Poetry Center of Chicago
All Rights Revert Back to the Author Upon Publication.
No Portion of this poem may be reproduced without the expressed permission of the author.