as they were known to steer pencils over paper or
ruffle and flip and twirl poker chips all because they could
palm basketballs and shoot them too and didn’t
you see them swipe candy from the checkout or thinly flick a
lighter than nothing really only a few afternoons of
practice until they figured out how to paradiddle and pick locks
or strike black keys here this is how you stick a jab
and fold pocket jacks but they’re stubborn and curling
their fingers wilted into fists that can’t fish salmon
out of a strait they will age as well as chain-link fences or
jazz that performs through eroded relics of surgeon fingertips
with a familiar melody one that once belonged
to someone who knew how to throw darts properly and didn’t
you hear them press the years together like steel guitar strings
please tell them on Sunday to try their best and write again