Cocktails on the Balcony

Cocktails on the balcony
The hangmen practice falconry
They pull the hoods off convicts’ heads
And watch them fly away
In the wind they twist and tack
They flounder some but don’t look back
They sail right past the grocery store
To hang another day

Refreshments on the promenade
Barbarians with orangeade
Staring at the castle
As they load the trebuchet
The alpha turns his cell phone off
And scoops more Ripple from the trough
They raise a glass in tribute
To the soaring sommelier

Breakfast on the mountaintop
The sous chef tries but cannot stop
The sudden levitation
Of the screaming maître d’
He grabs him by two flailing legs
He spills his soup and breaks his eggs
And yells down to the diners
That they won’t be back for tea

Their minds wonder as they wander
Up there in the wild gray yonder
About the losers in this town
Assuming that they’re
Ever coming down

Jealous of the sky-high scene
I spy an empty trampoline
I empty out my pockets
And decide to give a try
Suit of armor covers me
Inhibiting velocity
I shed the iron breastplate
And I join them in the sky
Cocktails on the balcony
Serfs and princes watching me
Just another black dot
In an ever-crowded space
Up here in the unfriendly skies
I see the frowns and empty eyes
And burning disappointment
Pour off each and every face

Our minds wonder as we wander
Up here in the wild gray yonder
About the losers on the ground
And the ones in the air
Who are never coming down