Magical Properties

Magical Properties

Back in the Paleolithic
Were people appealing
To one another, as casually
As we do today, for a light?
Or was it far more fraught —
Perhaps they feared or thought
That their fire, their heat,
Would somehow be deprived;

Or do you suppose
They resented those
Who wanted to take
With little exposure to danger
What they’d risked burning alive
In lava to obtain;

Or, again, did they see
In the other’s dependency
An even greater source of power
One they welcomed?
Dr. Glass asks, collecting
Fragments of shattered bottles
From the grass
On the edge of the bike path
For his ongoing project:
Ganesha and the Minotaur
Comparing their respective heads

Elliot Sperber is a writer, attorney, and adjunct professor. He lives in New York City and can be reached at elliot.sperber@gmail.com and on twitter @elliot_sperber