’Tis magic, magic that hath ravished me.
— from Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe
Place your faith on the tried-and-true,
the wisdom that our forebears knew.
It worked for them in times before.
Nail a horseshoe to your door,
paint the lintel and the jamb
with blood of slaughtered goat or lamb.
Salt the threshold twice a day
to keep the pestilence at bay.
Hang up a cross and pentagram.
Burn sage and myrrh to cleanse the air,
light a candle, say a prayer.
Use magic to protect yourself.
Put amulets on every shelf:
a hamsa hand, a Wiccan moon,
the Eye of Horus, Viking rune,
a witch’s knot, a scarab stone,
a totem turtle carved from bone.
Don’t trust in science coming through
to save the day and rescue you.
Keep superstition by your side.
The paranormal will provide.
Richard Meyer, a former English and humanities teacher, lives in Mankato, MN. He was awarded the 2012 Robert Frost Farm Prize for his poem “Fieldstone” and was the recipient of the 2014 String Poet Prize for his poem “The Autumn Way.” A book of his collected poems, Orbital Paths, was a silver medalist winner in the 2016 IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards.