Visiting the Oracle
It’s dark on purpose so just listen. Maybe I inhabit a jar, maybe a pot, maybe nothing. Only this loose end of a voice rising to meet you. It sounds like water. Don’t think about that. Let your servants climb back down the mountain by themselves. I’ll listen. I’ll tell you everything I discover, but I can’t say what it means. Someone will always assure you of the best of fortunes, but you know better. And keep this in mind: The answer reveals itself in time like the clue that fits perfectly and explains everything after the crime has been solved. Then you will say: I should have known. It was there all along and never even concealed, like the story of the letter overlooked by the thief because it had not been hidden. That’s the trick, of course. You don’t need me. . by Lawrence Raab from The Collector of Cold Weather Ecco Press, NY, 1976
