In Want of Magic

A Poem

Photo by Jessie McCall on Unsplash

oh, wish if you dare
but how do you know
those dreams will become
the sweet dessert you crave?

oh, wish upon stars
if you care to see them fall
to the earth and burst apart,
so ready to ignite the night.

oh, wish and wish and wish
on coins in those old wells
as if you’re a Disney princess
just waiting on a prince.

do I sound too mean?
or do you understand
that there’s no way out
when magic doesn’t exist?

but some may dare to tell me,
“not so, not so!” —
and I’ll ask them to tell me
just what magic exists on earth.

maybe they’ll say
it’s a newborn baby’s laugh
or the cuddle of a friendly cat —
and I’ll wonder why they bothered.

to me, magic can’t be captured
by the human means of measurement —
and if we saw it, we wouldn’t recognize it
for all its glory and mystery alike.