white hats
people kept warning me
about the white hat police
on Naxos
the last busker
the previous summer
had his banjo
bust over his head
and had been
jailed
doing a show
on the waterfront
there was a sizeable crowd
forming a circle
four or five deep
it was going well
everyone having fun
suddenly some shouting
two white hats
burrowing through the audience
my hat was full of drachmas
I yammed it on my head
the people behind me parted
so I could leg it
round the corner
peeking carefully back
the police had got to the centre
the circle had closed around them
it looked like folks were expecting
the next performance
a striptease maybe?
expressive dance?
HC: 2020