The Magician

You continue to watch the disappearing act,
Determined to catch this moment between visible and gone.
The rabbit is gone. Soon another.
A pigeon dipped-blue nosedives into a scarf
And it is gone. The silk square with it.
The woman is gone, of course; she was a pretty brunette,
You already know this, just as you remind yourself how you'll remember her
When you see a face with a similar complexion.
Over and over it will come,
The magician as awestruck as you,
He can't believe it either,
As pettingzoo goats, potbellied pigs,
Carousel herds vanish from his stage.
Finally three grown elephants.
Perhaps you've heard
that he does not sleep anymore, the magician,
because one night he woke up to his answering machine
flashing, and a voice that said