Fairy Tale Romance
by Amorak Huey
A house so far down a dirt road beyond where the stars reach.
We’re on our own out here.
A new kind of darkness,
it soaks into our bodies, leaves
us drenched in the absence of light.
Shadows weigh as much as trees.
So quiet until it’s not,
hawk swoop and rabbit scream--
a mistake to ascribe meaning to hunger--
how we learn to hold our tongues,
but what if we’ve already wasted the day
while we each waited to be asked.
The work of keeping ourselves alive
does not brook hesitation. At the end, what matters--
Did we love happily? Did we love ever? Will we love after?
We’re on our own out here.
A new kind of darkness,
it soaks into our bodies, leaves
us drenched in the absence of light.
Shadows weigh as much as trees.
So quiet until it’s not,
hawk swoop and rabbit scream--
a mistake to ascribe meaning to hunger--
how we learn to hold our tongues,
but what if we’ve already wasted the day
while we each waited to be asked.
The work of keeping ourselves alive
does not brook hesitation. At the end, what matters--
Did we love happily? Did we love ever? Will we love after?
Amorak Huey is author of four books of poems including "Dad Jokes from Late in the Patriarchy" (Sundress Publications, 2021). Co-founder with Han VanderHart of River River Books, Huey teaches writing at Grand Valley State University in Michigan.