Searching For Houdini's Grave

by Deirdre Abrahamsson

We can't find it.
Ambling through Cypress Hills
I expected just to stumble
across it
in all its majesty,
or to instinctively be drawn to it,
somewhere between Jackie Robinson
and the hilltop shrine to Scottish soldiers.
Appearing before us unexpectedly
(in true fashion)
like a magician's sleight of hand.

But it was magic enough
to take the shortcut through
Forest Park, through the cut fence,
scramble up a sharp hill and emerge
with the cemetery stretched green and grey
before us
and Manhattan shining boldly in the distance,
Brendan and I. Yes, that was magic enough.

The Author

Deirdre has been writing poetry for nearly 20 years and is just beginning to pore through her voluminous journals and start airing them out. She currently lives in Kalmar, Sweden with her husband Petter, their son Gavin and three cats. In 2003 she started an informal creative writing group in Kalmar with other American expats. She is an aspiring writer of books for Young Adults focusing on the positive benefits of sport participation for girls.