Fear of metaphor

Our philosopher believes in reality and counsels against fantasies. He never asked to be as wise as an owl or to direct others’ lives like a god. Our poet has a form of synesthesia. She confuses the signifier with the signified. The word “dance” always dances before her and she can read “slowly” only slowly. She’s like a hypnotist who succumbs to her own inducements. Our bulimic dancer wants to lose weight but is afraid of becoming as light as a feather, lest she be blown from the yard like the pappus of a dandelion seed. Our stage magician blithely makes things disappear, but he never wants his act to end, afraid of the final curtain.