Magic Tricks

When I work the medical wards

in my psychiatrist’s white robe,

the nurses applaud when I weave

my spell and the paralyzed walk.

I like to show them my methods,

the words I chant, my pillow-fluff

distraction technique, the silver Cross

pen I flourish to write orders

in Medicine’s mystical tongue.

And when they see what I hide

up my white coat sleeve,

they understand that magic

is not magic, but a set of moves

doctors practice for years, confident

we can saw our patients in half,

skilled enough to make them whole.