The Trick - Mark Scovel

You could practice with
things that do not break.
But you insist on using our best.

Crystal and silver.
Candles and flowers.
Everything that matters
placed on the white table cloth.

You’ve set this table for an occasion.
Not a dinner filled with conversations
about the events of our day.
Just the trick.

In your mind
you have done it many times.
Nothing ever breaks
in your mind.
But the cloth is
in your firm grip,
ready to pull.

I want you to pause,
to consider consequence.
To imagine everything that matters
broken on the floor.

- Mark Scovel