Mental Telepathy

When I was young,
The idea of
Of being able to
Mentally communicate
Thoughts and images
From one mind
To another
Intrigued me.
I spent hours and hours,
Both with my siblings
And alone,
Trying to develop
A telepathic ability.
But it always
Seemed to lie
Tantalizingly close,
Yet just beyond
My grasp.
Sometimes a pack
Of us miscreants
Would team up and
Focus our combined
Mental energies
On getting someone
To scratch a telepathic itch,
Or pick up on
That we were all
Staring at them in unison,
And occasionally they would,
But we never knew
If that was merely
Coincidence or not.
I remember playing cards
And trying to
Read other peoples minds
To see which
Cards they held
But if you watch close,
Many people
Will inadvertently
Give away their hand.
Most people are just not
That good at bluffing.
It’s more the art
Of reading body language
Than reading their minds.
There are plenty
Of other occasions
Where it is pretty obvious
What is on someone’s mind,
And it certainly
Doesn’t require
Any feat of mental telepathy.
Maybe that is why
I have been told
A time or two
That I have bedroom eyes.
It wasn’t my mind
They were reading.
I learned to pick up
On subtle verbal cues
And nonverbal clues,
But doubt I ever really
Had privy to
Anyone else’s mind
By anything other than
The words they use
And the things they do.