Sleight of Hand

He proffered both brown hands,
held them out before her saying, 'choose
with care.' She eyed each one. They looked alike,
but weren't. She knew that, so chose the right.
With a flick of the wrist, the hand opened to reveal
far greater secrets than it ever had concealed.
A tomato, small and round as a red pearl lay on his palm.
She reached to touch and it became a ruby
from a sultan's ring, a glowing ember - too hot
to handle - never play with fire,
a blackbird that began to sing, a Persian cat
that got the cream, a Fabergé egg, a risen phoenix
on its magic carpet, the crock of gold,
the rising sun, new moon, all before her very eyes
which held his with a gaze steady and old as the Nile.
He looked deep. 'Choose,' he urged. This time
she chose the left, spied a golden coin and snapped it up.
Her dextrous fingers peeled away
the wrapper and in one mouthful, the chocolate
held inside was gone - until next time
they shared the simple mysteries of the Universe.

A poem from me to christen our blog - conceived and created by Peter - what a great idea.

Feel free to interpret or comment as you wish,

Susanne.