Patter Sketch: Cardstolgia

For A Pocket Discovery from Royal Road

--
when I pick up the cards,
I let too many moments shuffle by
     Ask spectator to overhand shuffle deck

without stopping to take in what’s in front of me
     spectator removes a thought-of card

it’s all borrowed, fleeting
     Spectator returns card

irretrievable in the fast-forward movement
of numbered dates as they pile on top of each other
     Card is overhand shuffled back into deck

these memories will someday be lost
     indifferent cards shown on top

God-forbid forgotten
     indifferent cards shown on bottom

what I once held in the palm of my hands
is now out of reach
     Spectator puts shuffled deck in their pocket

our days are numbered
     Ask spectator to give you a number between 1-12

let the countdown begin
     Begin removing that # of indifferent cards from spectator’s pocket

that first night, I couldn’t sleep
by the second night, I was still figuring out how to hold her
on the third night, my swaddling skills improved
     Continue recounting first days with Nali as you remove cards from their pocket

our memories come back
     Before the last card is removed, name the color and suit of the chosen card correctly.

time stands still
     Remove one last card and hold it face down. Ask spectator what their card was.

these are the moments I can’t let pass by
     Turn over card to reveal selection