Magician

Having drinks and dinner at Solare’s last night

Camille and I were treated to a magic show.

“On the house” as Derek the magician put it,

a smart way to break down our first wall of resistance.

Not that we would have resisted too hard,

he was young, personable, good looking and we were fresh

from a long December walk and open to some fun.

You believe what the hands tell you.

One hand shows you the coin

and goes through the motion of passing it

to the eager, waiting, receptive other hand.

Which accepts the coin gratefully

holding it carefully from view

and, as hands do, passing it to pocket

where it will wait.  Wait patiently

for the magical trip to the first hand

where with a wave and a finger snap

it goes, from empty pocket to closed hand

where the truth has been waiting for us to see

and we do and we are pleased.

He then did a clever thing with Chinese coins

and a ribbon, focusing on Camille, with the ribbon

ends held in his hand he magic’ed the coins

off the ribbon, and closed her hand around them.

And then coins from her hands to the ribbon.

I gave him a good tip and a “Merry New Year”

as I was feeling pretty good and enjoying myself.

Later we watched our magician at the next table,

as Derek did tricks for a ten year old and his mom.

I had the vantage point of watching from the side

and could see some of his handiwork.  Seeing how

we are led to believe what we expect to believe,

that the coin will be passed hand to hand,

if that is what the hands tell us.

I think of other magicians, the un-professed ones,

the senator, ministers and businessmen,

who plant a strawman idea which we accept readily,

but is really un-examined but accepted as legitimate,

then take us un-wary listeners, down the path from there.

Beware of starting points, the coin may not have been passed hand to hand as expected.