James Bertolino

Clown Buttons


When I first began dating Mystique,
the guys at the bar said, “Hey! You goin’
woo-woo on us?” But I knew

they were glad I wouldn’t be whining
anymore about having lost Becky.
Mystique had a wisdom

I couldn’t even imagine. She’d studied
in India with a guru. When I admitted
I didn’t know what a guru was,

she got mad. Not wanting to let her
get the upper hand (like Becky),
I told her not to be pushing my buttons.

“You mean your clown-button chakras?
I’ve been pressing them since minute one!”
I got an image of Bozo, and had to laugh.

Now I consider her the canary in my mind.
She’s there, chirping somewhere behind
my forehead, and I know when she stops,

we’re all going down.