Mercury

I've seen you control the wind!
This is no power of the mind

I'm happy for you, I said,
under my breath,
but you whipped my breath away
and mixed it with yours

The whole atmosphere of the house
is a vat of milk for you, I said!
You ringmaster of the ventacade
You trainer of whispery sea lions
Wiggle a hip and it kneels down in an avalanche
Say the right word and it snakes through the furs
of Russian princesses with made up names
Sneeze and it rains shrimp and cherry blossom

Better than the glass of the ouija board, I said!
And what did you and your agent do?
You made the scarf around my head a swinging cobra,
and you made my rags look like petticoats,
and my love letters float among broken doves
My hair became your clay

You were the perfect conductor
and I can't even whistle
This is why my hand is tied to my room
by a silver dribble of ink