Nels Andrews Houdini
all the money from the bucket is wine
but I will save my softest song
for the hollow of the platform calm
after the train has gone
There's still Jersey on your tongue
that twists so fine and silver
"the west wind will bring me home,
and knot tassles in your hair"
fireworks over a frozen lake
far from laying lovers' skies
when houdini slips from your sheets
she wont say goodbye
In the end the irons fell,
does all your magic need the curtain?
Does avery trunk trick need applause?
will daylight break the spell?
In a dark room music played
from accordions hung in cages
to the spirits there i begged,
for what no earthly means could hold
you'll never tell of the trapdoor in my sweetest little
lie
when houdini...
naked, freckled, fair,
we shivered by the rio grande
you and and my alphabet snare,
held tightly in each hand
anglers and conjurers know
the tackle and creel
but footlit was the rose
for the one that got away
the seine i laid for your bedclothes
washed up pretty, and empty, and wry..
when houdini slips from your sheets
she won't say goodbye
