Alchemy

Heifetz’s Decca recordings show him doing what he did best: transforming two- and three-minute trifles into works of perfection.
—John Maltese

Imperfect things are always—

it seems—a wave

of some wand away

from perfection.

They’re there—the toady

and the bumpy

with warts—for turning

into princes. Even pumpkins—

propped upon

piles of lumber—

idle like unupholstered

carriages up on cinder

blocks. But a trifle’s potential—

its capacity for alchemy, actually—

can leave you longing

for lead. So many things

you think are Prince Hals

are really just kings.

Source: Poetry (July/August 2008)