by Fred Pond

That’s all there was to the earthquake

except for mud and mud and broken glass

the muck collecting everywhere  

Venetian masks against the wall  

Carnival          A sabre and a seltzer bottle

clown’s nose red an orange wig-- 

You go about your business cleaning up the mess  

when the bell above the entrance jangles  

Come in we’re open   A customer 

staggers forward grips the counter with both hands 

Have you seen my daughter

I can’t find her  She is missing

A cut on his right forehead 

From there a rivulet 

meanders past his eye

flows to dry in his moustache

Her name is Venus says the customer  We named her

after the planet          We named her after the goddess