Of Exhibitions and Psychics

Exhibitions can be boring things when not a lot is happening and you are manning a stand. And this was certainly true of me, a man, in the middle of the Every Woman Exhibition held in the Perth Convention Centre. My wife and daughter own a photography business here in Perth, and I was roped in to spread the load and talk to the prospective clients about the wonders of wedding and portrait photography.

Well you've got to believe that I seized every opportunity, any excuse at all, to get out and about; not just to check out the other photographers, but to see just what women do to themselves. Can't say that Mel Gibson of What Women Want fame didn't come to mind.

Anyway; over behind our stand was what I referred to as "psychics corner" -  the clairvoyant, fortune telling, astrological, healing, tarot reading, crystal believing contingent, with mystique and supernaturalness oozing from every bench top. Mysterious and not so mysterious women, looking concerned and poring over their readings/predictions while accepting money for their services. (Why a majority of women over men in this industry beats me... I'll ponder this another time)

But anyway, after a few rounds of the hall, here I was, standing at the coffee counter.  Psychics corner was just across the way.  And as I gazed across at it, a thought bounced into my head.  I turned to the woman next to me in line and asked – “Hey what do you think? If I went to all these people over there,  what do you think my chances would be of getting exactly the same prediction from each one of them? She just laughed and said  –  "get real!"  And that, I thought, said it all.

But anyway, two years later and it finally came to me. And I said to myself  "Ah!... there’s poetry in the air"  As you read, put the emphasis on the first word of each line to get the flow.

Psychics 

Psychics, psychics, psychics, psychics, what am I saying next?

Psychics? Yes! You are quite right, only you, I’m sure, could know

But please grant me this one doubt, for a while it’s been my quest

If I asked a bunch of you, who would my future show?

But now let’s not think a year, or even six months time

Let us talk about next week or even a fortnight hence

I’ll get back to you straight up with praises quite refined

If your forecast lines with truth I’ll know it’s no pretence

You must drop the flowery speech couched in the vaguest terms

You must speak specific things that only I could know

That’s not all, please hear me out, the rules now you must learn

Not just one, but lots of you, must clear my future show

Come now, be more reasonable, why set so high the bar?

You must not expect precise results, we feel that’s mean!

Hush now, you who say you know the future from afar

If you do this by the rules your merit’s clearly seen

But if you can not perform and tell it all so true

We ourselves can not be blamed for seeing through your fraud

If you’re game, come on, let’s go, the focus is on you

What? No way? It’s not for you? Can’t say I won’t applaud