Runes

What is forever, when we live 
near the water? Sand-shifting dunes, 

cords of seagrass. More inland, the soil 
beneath is latticed with roots. Dampness 

and heat give way to spores. When was it 
that planets aligned like beads on a chain? 

At the hinge of the year, we're eager again
to look for portents. A decades-old ban on

psychic readings has just been repealed in Norfolk.
Now I can look for someone who will run her finger

along the lines of my palm and tell me something 
I don't already know. She'll turn my hand sideways

to count the ripples along its edge. She'll pull an oracle
card and light candles that smell of salt and driftwood.