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