Neither

“Neither player-king nor prostitute.”
— Marcus Aurelius

Neither spinning
like a vinyl disk,
nor trembling
like a theremin.

Neither in thrall
to mirrors,
nor puppeteered
by cruel unseen hands.

Neither a stiff collar
buttoned at the throat,
nor a locket
hanging from a delicate chain.

Neither the last act
of an opera,
nor a dirty saucer
at a mad tea party.

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