I'd say these are the hands of the gardener and the plants are the puppets. No matter what you do you are not the one that makes them grow. That's the magic. The gardener is the charlatan.
Or you are the charlatan and the poem is a big slide of hands making us all the fools.
Thanks for weighing in @mineopoly! I'm happy that you are still around these parts after my sustained absence on STEEM. I want to get back to pretty regular sharing on here again as I work towards getting my work published more widely this year. It makes me feel connected to practice the craft of writing and get some interaction while in the dojo!
Hope you are well :o)