The night of the ball

We were Venetians onstage

The floor prime for our shoes

Yet caustic for our feet

He wanted to dance

But I took his hand

And he stepped along with me

He wore a scarlet mask

As the clock glided on

My mask began to wear

Its violet darkened fast

And I removed it for him

My eyes surprised him; pierced him

But he refused to unmask

And I thirsted to see him

So I revealed him myself

The stultorum rushed in with more

And he was again Arlecchino

I removed the foolish facade

And crushed it under my stilted heel

When they saw he was exposed

I caught a glimpse of his eyes

My own were covered swiftly

And the bandits swiped him away

So I sat lonely on the floor

Yet nothing singed my thighs

Though he made a grand escape

His fire was still alight