into cyclones of drums
and discordant trills

I will close my eyes

and see this Dangerous ballerina

toes off the ground, spinning

with feathery paint brush in one hand and a lethal straight razor in the other

she takes uS ^{up and} _{DOwn the LadDeR}
expecting us to keep pace
as if her instrument is a sidewalk jump rope
and we know the moves:

Sway/leap
sway/hop
Play catch, or duck?

She is delicious contradictions
and references-- both familiar and obscure

_{her whispers} And her screams

_{for Tori}