Fortune Teller, Atlantic City
by Maureen Sherbondy
Every July my mother returned
through the beaded curtain
certain this time
the palm reader would foresee
optimistic news, inferred in
the lines of her aging hands
a stellar future narrative.
Her ears listened for clues
of the handsome man in her future,
and the hint of endless dollars
raining down like manna
from the gray Jersey sky.
I watched her defeated, solemn exit
through beads parting like water,
my mother taking the bad
news like a fish biting down
on a sharp, empty hook.
About the Author
Maureen Sherbondy has a forthcoming book, Dancing with Dali. She also has published a short story collection and eight other poetry collections. She teaches English at Alamance Community College in Graham, NC.