He crosses stubborn arms to decipher
How coins can vanish, float, and change too quick
For him to discover the simple tricks
By which the tuxedoed wizard obscures
An undemanding existence secured
By facts. The superfluous mysteries,
For the girl on his left (more easily
Sold glitter that’s not gold), make life glister.

His mind perceives nothing but cheap secrets
He cannot know. Those years of practiced craft,
The innocent legerdemain: artless
Disguises in which truths are fancily trapped.

If you look only for the secret inside show,
You’ll die ignorant of what only outsides know.