MAGICIAN
Standing in winter’s doorway
the Magician
does the same trick
over and over—-
he shakes an empty hand. . .
The Jack of Hearts recites
a sonnet without moving his lips
The deaf hang upside down
and ring like bells
A butterfly turns
darkness into a rainbow
Colored scarves dance
in a halo around the moon
A woman’s belly swells
with the song of a child. . .
and
he shakes the empty hand
he shakes the empty hand