The Fortune Teller

[Delta40]

At the end of my sprawling yard
I slipped through the picketts
and found the remnants
of previous tenants.
A coin operated fortune teller
lay on its side,
the purple papier mache turban
crumbling from age.
I stooped down and made a clearing
in the wild tangled weeds
that engulfed it.
The teller's sleeping state
saddened me but for the wild smile.
I rocked the smudged glass.
His eyes snapped open.
Emerald green. Piercing, magical.
They rolled back then settled on me
Who disturbs Hanzi?
Who comes before him?
I only want to look around, I trembled.
He chuckled, his smile broadening
to the point of evil.
Then do so. There is enough behind you to see.
I turned back and saw a makeshift shed.
Sheets of rusted tin sloped on the leaky roof.
Bowed shelves were stacked with broken parts
Handles, lids, chips of china.
Romance stories waterlogged and unread.
Bundles of clothes, colourless, moth eaten and worn.
The fortune teller spluttered a carnival tune
and I returned to the bygone seer.
Why? I don't understand.
Some lights flickered around the case.
Hanzi is happy to be of service.
He laughed manically then shut down,
His sparkling eyes staring lifelessly ahead.
A pool of stagnant water collected at his elbow.
He left me there,
pondering.

[Jerrybaldy]

It has an epic feel and a cinematic feel and makes me think of amusement arcades of yesteryear and coin operated mystical fortunes. The close leaves me, too, pondering.

[everyadventure]

Very Ray Bradbury! And that picture is ug-leee!

[MystyrMystyry]

Intriguing Delta. excellent imagery, though I would change the plastic turban to one made of plaster - unless of course it is a real entity (though I still think it may work better as an 'old' texture)

Love the further journey into the waterlogged books and stuff

[Delta40]

maybe papier mache...

[MystyrMystyry]

Maybe - just that plastic seems to give an air of mass production, where ceramics glass, etc don't quite so much because they're generally incorporated into handcrafts = witchery wizardry

mwahahahah

[Delta40]

you're write.

[MystyrMystyry]

Papier mache's fine!

Great poem!

[Delta40]

http://i1108.photobucket.com/albums/h411/delta40/chocolateart.jpg

[Buh4Bee]

This reads so smoothly that it is like standing in the field yourself.

These lines seemed important to the pondering of the poem:
I only want to look around, I trembled.
He chuckled, his smile broadening
to the point of evil.
Then do so. There is enough behind you to see.

What occurred to me when I read this piece was the play between fantasy and reality as well as the present verses the carnivals of yesterday. Then there is the question of the modern day tenants- who are they? But it does not seem to matter much, as the real issue to ponder is the person standing in the field talking with the disintegrated fortune teller. As a time capsule, the fortune teller seems to know all as his simple advice is to tell the investigator to look around. He knows everything that lies in the field. What more does he know? What real magic and evil can be encountered?

[MystyrMystyry]

I found her head! http://i1134.photobucket.com/albums/m605/mystyrmystyry/images8.jpg

[Delta40]

Lmao!

[deryk]

I'm not usually fond of that type of ending, but I thought it fit the pacing and really connected with the damage we see earlier in the poem. It's kind of goofy and ragged and scary, sort of like a child finding a dead clown and trying to make sense of it.

[Delta40]

I'm not usually fond of that type of ending, but I thought it fit the pacing and really connected with the damage we see earlier in the poem. It's kind of goofy and ragged and scary, sort of like a child finding a dead clown and trying to make sense of it.

Thanks Deryk. I struggled over the ending so it is well spotted. I wasn't sure how to convey the character had suddenly been hung out to dry.

[Delta40]

http://i1108.photobucket.com/albums/h411/delta40/fortune20007.jpg

my inspiration!

[MorpheusSandman]

Love it, Delta! But I think others beat me to it in expressing what makes it so great. Realistic and magical, wistful and absurd, funny and creepy... you seem to pull every conflicting emotion into this bizarre little scene with its incredibly vivid imagery.

[PrinceMyshkin]

It's a wonderfully strange poem and one that defied my effort to make a logical summation of it other than that it is like our own assumed 'reality,' made up of pieces that are materially verifiable but that allude to other realities.

[Delta40]

Thanks everyone for your feedback. Prince, I must say I am pleased when I defy your efforts! I have been toying with the idea of a coin operated fortune teller as a character in a play I'm trying to develop. I think they're creepy and evil looking but also funny and I can see a person playing this role.

What do other lit-netters think?

[zoolane]

http://i1108.photobucket.com/albums/h411/delta40/fortune20007.jpg

my inspiration!

As I sit here stare at you my dear.
Wondering what great white lie I can tell.
Carry up my dear,my nose need scratch.
You silly fools , to think I can tell your fortune.
While you drop at coin in the slot.
I am really putting curse on you.

[Delta40]

Ha Ha! Imagine telling a child the cost of a fortune is one nose scratch. Kids would be wetting themselves!

[MorpheusSandman]

What do other lit-netters think?I'm not quite sure how it would work, but it's a fascinating concept...