Today's poem is by Lesley Wheeler

It Is Advantageous to Place on the Table a [Hollow Figurine] of Apollo, with Bibliomancy
        Greek Magical Papyri in Translation Including the Demotic Spells, by Hans Dieter Betz

The angry woman, thrice passed over,
should first procure a table of olive wood
and carve upon it in a circle a secret word,
abjuring for three days any uncleanness
and eating no fungus, to please the gods. Next
she must ink the sacred Project Description
onto a seven-leaved sprig of laurel and summon
three referees, anointing them with honey.
When all is ready, recite this formula toward the sunrise,
offering dark wine: I am brilliant and deserving.
Give unto me the fellowship. If she burns
the inscribed branch and stuffs its ashes into
the drive of a blue computer, disregarding
its sighs, acceptance will come in spring, when
she may pass this charm to another angry woman.

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Copyright © 2023 Lesley Wheeler All rights reserved
from Kestrel
Reprinted by Verse Daily® with permission