Alison Hicks’ most recent poem to appear here was “The Pelicans” (November 2019).

The Winter Magician
By Alison Hicks

makes earth hard and turns rain white.
He lives in a cave and doesn’t care
to perform tricks of resurrection or resurgence.

His audience is captive.
He pointedly ignores them as he goes about his business,
building a parsimonious fire.

His blood is slow to rise,
his fingers never truly warm.
Pain his only assistant, not lovely in the least.

After his meal of watery rabbit stew,
eaten with a bended spoon,
they converse.

Sometimes he brings out the deck and she picks a card.
Always the same one.
He still won’t tell her how he does it.

He works methodically:
given one season to reveal the bones,
he does no more, no less.