Superstition Poem by Mike Smith

What is a wish aside from an empty request you trick yourself into thinking could be possible
And what is luck other than some fanciful belief in a non-existent outside force
When you've decided to toss out ancient superstition and replace it with evidence and logic
How can you still long to see shooting stars blaze across the night sky
Or toss coins into intricate water fountains when truly you haven't got two nickels to rub together
How can you wish good luck to a friend on an exam or at an interview and even partially believe that doing so has any impact at all
That their performance is effected by your weightless wish which is nothing more than empty rhetoric
It is all of it illusion
Right?
Or can just believing in something give it validity
Is there a way we can alter our surroundings, our future
Simply by yearning something deeply enough
And if so, who I am to say that these ancient superstitions shared by billions are so backwards
And if not, why the hell can't I stop myself from wishing for things fully knowing the effort to be childish
- - -
Maybe we're not so very different at all
Maybe we both just want things that are beyond our power to control
Maybe we all hope there is something bigger, but some of us just can't convince ourselves to commit to that hope