Angels of light and gorgeous ghosts  

Illuminate this sacred space

There is Rumi weaving compassionate fables  

Fresh-faced queens cavort on stage

as Agosto embodies white robed wisdom


Hibiscus, forever young, hovers above the Rose window  Pleased and amused at the evening’s entertainment  

But his friends look so old!  

Some even toothless

And all his girlfriends have tragic haircuts  


What of the mythical magical wand  

---the talisman passed from trickster to diva  

from shaman’s hand to rent boy’s toy


A fairytale of glued-on glitter 

Recreational drug stupor and  

The heady perfume of casual sex

None of this enchantment could halt a plague  

Tonight the virus of love transforms


by Ilka Scobie