Classic Poem

Things besides
Aladdin's and
the golden cave
fish's lamps
grant wishes.
In fact,
most lamps
aren't lamp-
shaped and
happen by
accident: an
ordinary knob
goes lambent
as you twist
or a cloth turns
to silver mesh
against a dish—
something
so odd and
filled with promise
for a minute
that you spend
your only wish
wishing someone else
could see it.











From Poetry Magazine, Vol. 185, no. 2, Nov. 2004. Used with permission.