BEING SEEN
A foil of the stock magician,
there is a man, who, with a needle
pierces clean through
the full thick of his arm
without ever drawing blood.
In that moment, the audience
refuses to see him for who he really is—
a man
sticking a needle
through his arm.
There is no trick.
It could go wrong at any moment.
He is risking himself,
but the crowd refuses to believe.
It is too crazy, it is too much,
it is too real.
And then you leave the show.
You’re walking on the street,
with the city shimmering and rippling
in the asphalt puddle slick.
You’re chatting with friends,
or opening the door to your partner
who’s been reading until you get home.
And then the magician
and in the audience
all over again.
Author’s Bio
Julia Gibson is a multidisciplinary thinker, creator, and problem solver aspiring to contribute to a more understanding, technologically developed, and compassionate world. She works as an aerospace engineer, poet, and artist in Toronto. Her first full-length poetry collection, Two Doors, was published in 2019 by Clare Songbirds Publishing House.