IV

In the last contortions of the dance
The milkmaids and the village girls incline
To the smiling boys with rattan canes
Withdraw, advance;
The hero captures the Columbine
The audience rises hat in hand
And disdains
To watch the final saraband
The discovered masquerades
And the cigarettes and compliments

But through the painted colonnades
There falls a shadow dense, immense

t’s the comedian again
Explodes in laughter, spreads his toes
(The most expressive, real of men)  
Concentred into vest and nose.