The Magician
poem by Toti O'Brien
1. Drinking buildings
She adds a spout on the left just above the palm tree crown lazily swinging. Handle on the right, a bit higher. It comes off the floor with a gentle wiggle, firm rotation. Don’t hesitate. She pours. A silvery puddle flickers on the pavement. She goes down on her four. She sips slowly. She licks to the last drop. A taste of lead, tin, rust lingers on her tongue. 2. The Guest Hastily, he pours a bowl of jasmine blooms in his plate. Merely a decoration, dusty probably unclean, bits of stems still attached to the petals. Now the rice concoction she had lovingly wrought is contaminated. Will he choke on ligneous fragments? Will he regret his gesture? Why did he. She wishes she had cut those flowers in shreds, washed them served them on the side. Why didn’t she. 3. Ballerina Since she practices her tightrope routine on salvaged cobwebs she has lost weight. The emptiness between her tights is a womb so is the void between her arched calves. At her waist, inconsistent she wears the torn fabric of an umbrella. No need for the center hole to be enlarged. Her skirt matches the paper parasol her fingers painfully grasp. Light as a passing thought good intention, bad idea she still feels encumbering loaded, burdensome consequently unbalanced. Her breast dries up like fruit smaller and smaller shrinking to the core, unobtrusive. Her naked feet become prehensile. Soon she clings to the sticky rope with four limbs, like a bradypus. 4. The Magician He keeps a drawer chest under his counter, smartly attired with a throw of crimson velvet full length, hiding paraphernalia of his trade. Just a sailor trunk hinged in the middle. On both sides are brass handles easy grip, he pulls, blind with index and thumb. Long and thin, the drawers hold a variety of women’s limbs. Arms and legs kept in formaldehyde. Well preserved. Only a couple of fingers have started crumbling away. Neatly stored, and one size fits all. |
About the writer
Toti O'Brien is the Italian Accordionist with the Irish Last Name. She was born in Rome then moved to Los Angeles, where she makes a living as a self-employed artist, performing musician and professional dancer. Her work has most recently appeared in \Colorado Boulevard, Indian River, Zingara Poetry, and Cloud Women’s Quarterly Journal.
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