Every Shell Game Has Its Marks

Genius and tyrant are roles,
Not beasts with lives of their own.
Bodies that fill them are small,
And lives that live them are short

In ordinary human
Ranges, as must be the case
For all of the other roles
As well—athlete, lover, slave.

The body behind a mask
Hides the role within itself.
If you weren’t human, you’d ask,
Why hide nothing under shells?