Ukemi

The oracle is awake

to all of our emotions 

he sees the micro-expressions

the tells of the poker table

but he sees them as 

weaknesses to exploit

so he may put the knife

of his intellect 

between our ribs.

I’m all admiration 

for this kind of wisdom 

and I try to follow 

the rapid fire 

across the table 

of conversation 

to anticipate the moment 

that the trap door 

will swallow someone up

without warning. 

I’m one of the 

easy targets

emotions flow across my face like clouds 

and I carry the wounds of the past

bundled in my arms like children

but at least the world

has rendered me accustomed to injury 

and taught me some tricks 

of how to take a blow 

and how to transform

the force of it 

into a tool for a later hour.