The Hand of Miriam

Do the five fingers with a flowering eye protect us?

Bodhisattva Wearing the Hand by Mark Tulin

I wear a piece of jewelry
not just to make me look pretty —
but for health, good luck
and to ward off
a malevolent glare.

It’s an open five-finger hand,
called a Hand of Miriam
or a Hamsa Hand
with a flowering eye
in the center.

I wear it on a leather chain
loosely hung around my neck
to make me feel
supernaturally blessed.

Call it superstition,
or an irrational fear,
but I won’t leave the house
without one.

It’s my protective amulet,
my superpower shield
warding off the dragons
and the demons —
like Rosemary’s Baby
or the Son of Sam.

A skeptic once asked:
Do you really believe that hand works?