Won Over

The man at the country club golf shack

made his thumbs disappear in an

illusion I requested to see

every time I went for a visit.

Three years old:

afraid to look,

afraid not to;

naïve enough to believe

the panic sensor that went off

when a stump formed

mid-knuckle.

He was magic.

Years later,

after my mother wasn't a waitress there

anymore, she told me

he wasn't so honorable.

He was fired for doing things

I swear only adults who

lack a sense of humanity

think to do.

Someone showed me,

thirteen years old:

afraid to look,

afraid not to,

how the trick is done.

I swear it's because

I think of things

only adults,

lacking a sense of humanity,

think about.