Alterations

They sent me in
for expert tailoring
for you to edit me
into a better fit,
So I sit and wait,
worried,
as you turn your back
in prim displeasure,
then measure me
in one sad glance

You see the job will be
more than the usual
snip and tuck
more like a wipe
and full revision--
writing me over
in binary code
locking me into
a new algorithm
that knows how to come
to an acceptable conclusion-

Alterations

You will replace my gypsy rags
with something neat and sober
as a business suit
and take away my tinfoil halo
that kept the alien voices out
you will cancel all
my occasional magic
and iron me flat
til I am done
with not one single wrinkle
left to hide in