Tom Snyder: Collected Poems

The Levitation of Hearts

Deal—it’s your deal, and cards fly
to the table like a flock of wounded ducks.
Fun—this is fun we’re having tonight!

Remember my joke? On vacation
at a lake called Wannacut
and I said why not? I was shrink-wrapped
on cigarettes and bourbon—out of ice.
Hot as a throat, but the lake
too cold to swim.

Fishing went bad, the only rainbow was cards.

So we played a slow game of hearts. Slower than usual
because the game takes more than two—
which involved the dogs.

I lost to a miniature schnauzer.

But the talk came back. Evening came like silk
with a cool, air-cushioned finish.

We played forever
under a Coleman glow, two swimmers
learning the trust it takes to float.