House of Cards (early 1980s)

 
I walked into a house of cards,
Surprised that I could open the door;
The residents were surprised by me,
That a dimension beyond one side
would take up equal dwelling space.

 
My resolutions case aside,
I could only state the obvious,
and they found that most complete;
"Be careful not to laugh too hard,
You might blow away the floor."

 
I wished myself into a dream state,
Where cards were replaced--
By fortune tellers,
And gravity was not the sole foundation,
And found it useless.

 
Laughing that the steel beams and concrete that had built a nation
Had become my paper creation,
With a cry of "Caution!" from the diamond king,
I destroyed the paper floor,
The immobile faces on the queens altered in dismay.

 
"Enough of the balancing of perspectives," I said.

*****

The Poetry of Vonne Barnett