By Bruce Sager
If I were a woman,
I’d wish for casual beauty,
brains enough to hide it,
breasts tipped like two pink eyes
looking heavenward towards
the eyes of god.
I’d wish for a man
whose hand is never a hammer.
I’d wish for a man – between
sessions of love so hot
Apollo would sweat – who’d
break me up, who’d choke me
with laughter.
I’d wish for the impossible:
for love, for heat
to last.
And when it cooled,
a forest. I’d wish for a forest
spread so far beyond our lawns
that when I wandered into it
no one could find me, ever.
I’d bury myself in leaves
and live on bird’s eggs, on berries.
Years might pass.
When I’d had enough
I’d show up at home, at midnight.
You know what I want, I’d say.
And he’d know. By Christ,
he’d know.
About Bruce Sager
Bruce Sager, a recent winner of the William Matthews Poetry Prize, lives in Westminster, Maryland. His work has won publication through competitions judged by Billy Collins, Dick Allen and William Stafford. Currently available through Amazon: Famous, winner of the Harriss Poetry Prize. Forthcoming from Hyperborea Publishing, Ontario: TAU (poetry) and Hoby Blue Banks in Exactly 1,000 Words, More or Less (short stories). Forthcoming from BrickHouse Books, Baltimore: What Language Would Please Its Ear? and Swale (both poetry)
If I were a woman,
I’d wish for casual beauty,
brains enough to hide it,
breasts tipped like two pink eyes
looking heavenward towards
the eyes of god.
I’d wish for a man
whose hand is never a hammer.
I’d wish for a man – between
sessions of love so hot
Apollo would sweat – who’d
break me up, who’d choke me
with laughter.
I’d wish for the impossible:
for love, for heat
to last.
And when it cooled,
a forest. I’d wish for a forest
spread so far beyond our lawns
that when I wandered into it
no one could find me, ever.
I’d bury myself in leaves
and live on bird’s eggs, on berries.
Years might pass.
When I’d had enough
I’d show up at home, at midnight.
You know what I want, I’d say.
And he’d know. By Christ,
he’d know.
About Bruce Sager
Bruce Sager, a recent winner of the William Matthews Poetry Prize, lives in Westminster, Maryland. His work has won publication through competitions judged by Billy Collins, Dick Allen and William Stafford. Currently available through Amazon: Famous, winner of the Harriss Poetry Prize. Forthcoming from Hyperborea Publishing, Ontario: TAU (poetry) and Hoby Blue Banks in Exactly 1,000 Words, More or Less (short stories). Forthcoming from BrickHouse Books, Baltimore: What Language Would Please Its Ear? and Swale (both poetry)