Madame Sosostris

“The doom mark

Crawls down the wall”

—Sylvia Plath,

“Contusion

The night is a woman—

The woman is a witch

The poetess wagers—

Beyond the beyond

Beyond Ariel—

Beyond Las Vegas

Her Yankee chutzpah—

Her White Goddess panache

Pushing her teacup—

Over the Ouija Board

Seancing the dead—

Like Madame Sosostris

Playing out the cards—

Ted’s the Devil Card

Her own infernal deck—

Of unearthly Tarot cards

And when the dead speak—

She’s ready for them