Elegy Written at a Séance Table

To James Randi

I know you’d come back

if anyone were able,

surely nudge the planchette,

or yet

tip the tipping table

to spell

messages at will.

I wouldn’t need

daydreaming

to see you, maybe

streaming

vaporized

ectoplasm

before my eyes,

or otherwise

return

despite the chasm,

from the Other Side.

You wouldn’t hide

but somehow appear,

to one who’s been

so very, very long, sitting here.

Joe Nickell

Joe Nickell, PhD, is senior research fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI) and “Investigative Files” columnist for Skeptical Inquirer. A former stage magician, private investigator, and teacher, he is author of numerous books, including Inquest on the Shroud of Turin (1983), Pen, Ink and Evidence (1990), Unsolved History (1992) and Adventures in Paranormal Investigation (2007). He has appeared in many television documentaries and has been profiled in The New Yorker and on NBC’s Today Show. His personal website is at joenickell.com.