Old time movies:
Following a murder
In the dark,
(this time with
a blow-dart)
The policeman
Leaps to the stage
Of a crowded
Theater to shout:
“Ladies &
Gentlemen, please
Be seated.
No one is
Allowed to leave.
All exits are blocked.”
One spectator
(usually an older
Woman
in a sequined gown
& a diamond tiara
protests: “You
can’t keep us here
against our will!
I know my rights.”)
Charlie Chan,
Played by a Swede,
Says: “Readers
Of this short poem
Are not allowed
To leave either.
All exits are blocked.
You are all
Under suspicion.”
Louis Phillips’ recent poetry publications include The Domain of Silence, The Domain of Absence: New and Selected Poems (Pleasure Boat Studio, 2015), The Domain of Small Mercies: New & Selected Poems ], Volume 2 (Pleasure Boat Studio, 2017), How Wide the Meadow (World Audience Publishers, 2019).