The Mechanical Turk
A neat contrivance of rods and cams
creates the illusion a hustler seeks.
His window dressing perfects
the hoax: the turban and robes
a thespian’s flourish. This season
Mechanicks is all the rage
in fairground shows and court,
where an empress cheats
but can’t outsmart some
gadget’s lack of class. It takes
a certain kind of flair
to plot the chequered board.
A wind-up toy takes on the best
in Europe’s brightest halls.
Its cunning leaps the gap between
what is thought and done.
David Cooke has had poems in Agenda, Ambit, The Interpreter’s House, The Irish Times, The London Magazine, Magma, The Manhattan Review, Poetry Ireland Review, Poetry Salzburg Review and Stand. His latest collection, After Hours, is available from Cultured Llama Publishing.