Eyes on the Pearl, by Max Heinegg

The Conjurer, by Heironymus Bosch and/or his workshop, (Netherlands) 1502.

Eyes on the Pearl
  
Eyes on the pearl- the prize shown first
is the one you cannot win. Curse
the magic of a charlatan
when you reckon misdirection
opened your throat for croakers, your purse
 
for the accomplice. It’s avarice
that brings beasts to table, & worth
the owl’s wisdom, to stay hidden.
Eyes on the pearl,
 
his cups & balls, her thin necklace,
all float towards a false caress,  
but a grain of regret digs in
& grows to insight, the queen’s gem  
bids all her subjects to chorus,
eyes on the pearl. 

Max Heinegg

​Max Heinegg is a high school English teacher who lives in Medford, MA. He is a Best of the Net and Pushcart nominee whose poems have appeared in The Cortland Review, Tar River Poetry, December Magazine, The Journal of American Poetry, and Crab Creek Review, among others. He is also a singer-songwriter whose records can be heard at www.maxheinegg.com