Posts: 327
Threads: 85
Joined: May 2026
Magic
Walking through the park tonight, I feel like rotten milk
watching a pretty couple watch the stars
dance to their own music. It's winter cold
early this year; he leans into his lover's coat
like some Buddhist tree falling, slow
and mindless, irreversible. A quick kiss
on the lips.
They look like they've been doing this
for weeks.
Tucked behind the fountain
where the birds no longer come to drink,
a whisper-fingered hustler
palms another six of hearts.
I catch the look they give each other
—sly, almost reluctant
to acknowledge what they've witnessed here
behind their mother's backs, then off
they run, leaving a trail of laughter
thick enough to eat. A breadcrumb
for the moon, two dollars
shaking in the wind. I know a good magician
never tells, so I don't even bother
troubling the man to ask
how anyone pulls it off:
standing there exposed,
lying to their faces
openly
and making people want it,
making being fooled the point.
Posts: 673
Threads: 278
Joined: Dec 2017
(Yesterday, 11:05 AM)matsunosuperfan Wrote: Magic
Walking through the park tonight, I feel like rotten milk ... too wordy. condense?
watching a pretty couple watch the stars
dance to their own music. It's winter cold
early this year; he leans into his lover's coat
like some Buddhist tree falling, slow
and mindless, irreversible. A quick kiss .... slow and mindless, irreversible...this is a pile up. Don't think you need all 3.
on the lips.
They look like they've been doing this
for weeks.
Tucked behind the fountain
where the birds no longer come to drink, .....nice bit of observation
a whisper-fingered hustler
palms another six of hearts.
I catch the look they give each other
—sly, almost reluctant
to acknowledge what they've witnessed here
behind their mother's backs, then off
they run, leaving a trail of laughter
thick enough to eat. A breadcrumb
for the moon, two dollars
shaking in the wind. I know a good magician
never tells, so I don't even bother
troubling the man to ask
how anyone pulls it off:
standing there exposed,
lying to their faces
openly
and making people want it,
making being fooled the point.
I think 'thick enough to eat' is where the poem should end. It's a beautiful metaphor, and anything afterwards is a let down.
Posts: 327
Threads: 85
Joined: May 2026
(Yesterday, 01:38 PM)busker Wrote: (Yesterday, 11:05 AM)matsunosuperfan Wrote: Magic
Walking through the park tonight, I feel like rotten milk ... too wordy. condense?
watching a pretty couple watch the stars
dance to their own music. It's winter cold
early this year; he leans into his lover's coat
like some Buddhist tree falling, slow
and mindless, irreversible. A quick kiss .... slow and mindless, irreversible...this is a pile up. Don't think you need all 3.
on the lips.
They look like they've been doing this
for weeks.
Tucked behind the fountain
where the birds no longer come to drink, .....nice bit of observation
a whisper-fingered hustler
palms another six of hearts.
I catch the look they give each other
—sly, almost reluctant
to acknowledge what they've witnessed here
behind their mother's backs, then off
they run, leaving a trail of laughter
thick enough to eat. A breadcrumb
for the moon, two dollars
shaking in the wind. I know a good magician
never tells, so I don't even bother
troubling the man to ask
how anyone pulls it off:
standing there exposed,
lying to their faces
openly
and making people want it,
making being fooled the point.
I think 'thick enough to eat' is where the poem should end. It's a beautiful metaphor, and anything afterwards is a let down.
Thanks Busker, I appreciate it. That's a provocative suggestion, I kind of like it.
Posts: 28
Threads: 11
Joined: Aug 2026
(Yesterday, 11:05 AM)matsunosuperfan Wrote: Magic
Walking through the park tonight, I feel like rotten milk
watching a pretty couple watch the stars
dance to their own music. It's winter cold
...
Another riddle :-) This one I'm having a hard time decoding.
Many of the enjambments seem to be unmotivated.