Circus Therapy

Before the circus rises on the field

conquering grass with guy wires, stakes, and ropes--

before it breathes through red-striped canvas lungs,

deploying magic cats and elephants

to hypnotize the children, tempting them

to stand between two horses as they run,

or spin on wheels while knife-throwers define

the boundary between bodies and souls--

the fortune teller works the coffee shop.

She writes her orders in symbolic script,

wipes tables, swiping coins and stuffing bits

of whispered gossip in her rolled-up sleeves.

No fortune seekers recognize her when,

with crystal ball, she sells them back their lives.

published in So to Speak