G: The Great Sambini's Final Act

Once I was The Great Sambini
and my hands would flash
like a let-loose dove,
so fast
that the world would slow
to stop.
I could have snuffed the breath from their slack-mouthed gawps
-fttt-
like that.

He turns to the nurse in the well-lit room
and the hum of the bulky machine
as she holds the cup to his trembling lip
and he laughs
last.