Once I was known as the world’s greatest
escape artist, a master of disguises, a sexual
gymnast. No straitjacket, no handcuffs
or shackles, no rope or wire could hold me.
At times, even my own reflection doesn’t
recognize me. Now, my make-up has liquefied
into a puddle of melodrama. With my expert
hands bound, my clever tongue tied, I freeze
at my lover’s or any other’s touch. I wish
I was a thermometer or weathervane as
the storm slowly passes. Sanity returns
for a fleeting instant. If I ever find the key,
I will swallow it, because I know Houdini
loved his mother more than magic.
Gregg Shapiro is the author of 10 books including The Name of This Poet is Gregg Shapiro (Souvenir Spoon Books, 2026). Recent/forthcoming lit-mag publications include RFD, Pleiades, Bronze Bird Review, Oatleaf Poetry Magazine, Gargoyle, and SoFloPoJo, in addition to the anthologies White Winged Doves: A Stevie Nicks Poetry Anthology (Madville Publishing, 2026) and America’s Future (Washington Writers’ Publishing House, 2025).An entertainment journalist, whose interviews and reviews run in a variety of regional LGBTQ+ and mainstream publications and websites, Shapiro lives in South Florida with his husband Rick, and their dog Coco.
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