by K.G. Strayer

Find a picture of yourself as a child and set it in front of you to look at as you shuffle your deck. You might consider using two different decks for this spread, but it’s not required.

Draw one card and lay it face down in front of you vertically. Draw another card and lay it on top of the first card horizontally.

The first (vertical) card governs your child self in this poem. What memories come to mind in relation to the significance of the card? You might write a list of images that those memories bring up for you.

The second (horizontal) card governs your adult self in this poem—how your adult self is animated by the memory conjured by those childhood memories.

The card beneath peeks through above and below the card on top. Your poem might also explore the ways your childhood self shows up in adult situations. What is obscured? What is left? What shines through?