Harry Houdini Extricates Himself

          No prison can hold me; no hand or leg irons or steel locks can shackle me.  No ropes or chains can keep me from my freedom.” Harry Houdini



​​​​​We were there the day Harry Houdini
bound himself in tons of chains and ropes.
 He waved to us, we cheered, and, last seen, he
sank into the cold unknown with all our hopes.

We gathered with  friends and naysayers, too,
murmured together, moved closer to know
more of the bind Harry put himself through,
yet feared to imagine the dangers  below.

When he rose from the depths, free from dire straits,
we breathed his relief as we would a brother’s, 
then we turned to go home dragging the weights
we wore to the shore and told each other

if Harry Houdini can beat the odds,
if Harry Houdini knows a few tricks,
if Harry Houdini can challenge the gods,
there’s always a way to get out of a fix.

 












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