THE MAGICIAN

For A...


I defy
the eye
to see
it. That's
how quickly
I change.
You might
suspect
a sleight
of hand.
But you'd still lose
your money or
your heart...usually
both.
Leave them both
at the door
before
you enter.

(I've just gained
your trust.)

Make yourself
at home,
please.

Norman Savage
Greenwich Village, 2016

I REMEMBER

I felt pain,
but not how
that pain
felt. I felt love
but can't remember
that either.
I know they bled
together, but that,
too, escapes me.
Same thing with lust,
& joy, & misery, & fear.
I cannot conjure
their presence
except that their presence
was as real
as breath.
It's like that
with everything
remembered:
spaces taken
that remain
empty
empty
empty.

Norman Savage
Greenwich Village, 2015