Victorville Carnivàle

I was pocket sized
with a teensy weensy voice
my clothes never dry
the weight of a wool coat
I gave up dancing
the smug blue toaster
goddamn the men
pounding my roof
with mallets

one night my one night alone with the beast fork-ed tongue bitten down nails I baked cookies for children attended by the fragrant bodies of animals cats the giant gold dog the baby with its steel arm and hook sewn to a cloth bunny swung from the door frame

I lied to the men on the roof told them I had a piano lesson to teach pack it up now I said in my grouty voice I told them the false student was about to arrive I said no no you cannot use my bathroom christ what was up with those men mend the shingles fix the roof liars down on all fours