An Amsterdam Clairvoyant

Extend the arms outward palms up,
relax the wrists—yes—
No, this is no longer what you thought here

Your worry’s dust mutes the light,
now give me that sight:
those women,

thin robes & deep gazes,
who put fire in the eyes
from Dutch windows,

aged blue-grey, staring
at the only canal still
flowing past Den Haag—

[inspiration]

yes—there—
on that street is a restaurant
whose sign reads in neon mandarin

below that, a glass dragon,
but behind it, in the back,
the young man bussing tables,

he is the one red,
red face you want,

[expiration]

His eyes are his mother’s
but he is yours, I am sure of it,
if you too could see his birthmark:

He shares your forward thinking
and indelible love for women, wine
& the word.