Smiling Maid Coins a Tremble

Smiling Maid Coins a Tremble

Smiling maid coins a tremble
steps into the sunlight
handful of trust, heavy as gold
headful of dreams tailored as fine
as any lady\'s silk kerchief
Slippers click along the stones
set like backs of breaching whales
in a crowded brown sea

Tired man once full of magic
turns his hand from up to down
empties nothing upon the table
brown skin stretched across his palm
lettering of bones beneath spells nothing
He touches on the table, rubbing roughly
against the grain, trying to find
meaning amidst the detail

Rotting ships rolling an idle sea
wooden boats waiting for wind
bodies, dancing and grunting
cut sailor shapes in the milky sphere
of recognition and recreation
heels hit hard up on the deck
hips hit hard upon haunches below

Primitives dancing emphatic
serious faced and sober
circles around fire
sending up sparks
like stars into the darkness

Rusty stars rolling antique orbits
around the sky, the ancient regularity
of cogs in a clock, face painted with constellations
despite the cut of comets
small scars soon forgotten