Bright wheels shine upon the green linoleum
intermittently singing a song of rust and thirst
within the deafening silence of a thick smog.

Eyes sharp as a fox seeking his next prey
he believes in a flight to the freedom next door.

Those lines on a leathery visage attest to the smiles
recalling witnesses to the many pranks suffered
a story yet to continue for this ninety-year old trickster.

Halls like a labyrinth, but not a prison yet
as he roams between walls, as he does in his thoughts
playing the same game he invented when a child still.

A mysterious smile hovers on the mischievous lips
of this wheelchair speed racer up to his old tricks.

Murmuring a brief song of commonplace clichés
is his warning to those who dare stay in his way
that soon they will be caught in the laughter he made for them.

He may not remember the decades spent reeling
nor the time of day or the seasons in the orchard
yet he rules in this kingdom, 90 year-old king of tricksters.

# # #

Fabrice Poussin teaches French and English at Shorter University. Author of novels and poetry, his work has appeared in Kestrel, Symposium, The Chimes, and dozens of other magazines. His photography has been published in The Front Porch Review, the San Pedro River Review as well as other publications.

Photo: James Williams