Treason has done his worst. Burst, smilingly, I believe
he said. Instead of accuracy,
they tried for maximum disruption.
Skin of her teeth; sinews of her soul: the whole
of her, raffled. Laughs fled our curtains;
certain longings left us, oddly free.
Fee'd—such a servant kept in each
of their homes. Foam all along the dark gray beach
deepened our despair. Wherefore to Dover?
Ever those lackluster apologies
and accolades. Trade a pocket for a pouch,
a ladder for a loading dock, a rose
for a rapture that lives down the lane.
That train never emerged from the tunnel. O, full
of scorpions is my mind, dear wife! If only
our fish could see us now. Low rider just bought
new shocks. Honks of three hundred geese over their heads.
Bleed, bleed, poor country! Rye for the little woman,
and I'll have —hmmm— a smack in the face.
Joel Chace has published work in print and electronic magazines such as, The Tip of the Knife, Counterexample Poetics, OR, Country Music, Infinity's Kitchen, and Jacket. He has published more than a dozen print and electronic collections, most recently Sharpsburg, from Cy Gist Press, Blake's Tree, from Blue & Yellow Dog Press, Whole Cloth, from Avantacular Press, Red Power, from Quarter After Press, Kansoz, from Knives, Forks, and Spoons Press, and Web Too, from Tonerworks.