Limelight and Water

Attention capable
Not only of noting
Attention from others

But attention itself
As a phenomenon
Worthy of attention

Takes a blowpipe that burns
A blend of oxygen
And hydrogen, applies

The flame to quicklime blocks
Of calcium oxide
And burns an intense light

To focus on a stage.
Now you have attention
Worth calling awareness.

Although it’s peculiar—
There’s nothing much on stage,
Just the floor reflecting

Like water in limelight,
An immobile hurry
To return to somewhere.

Some illustrations add
Children in the limelight
(Vide Ashbery) but

Homunculi remain
Unnecessary props.
Once the circuit closes,

The wavering inside
Is a thing of its own,
A ghost light to itself.