for the courtier and the lover

for the courtier and the lover
by Michelle Hartman

          to draw attention of the queen
perform well in that masculine arena—
          tension between desire and ambition
           beating the air above her—
tilting war with masculine conceit
          desire
he loses control in arenas of imperialism
           governance and war
resents prizes lost
          successful courtiership
          aristocratic conventions
and practices of erotic desire
          drain the masculine ambition

he depends on grace and favor

long live the king

* * *

Michelle Hartman is allowed to wander the grounds at the Fort Worth Home, for the Terminally Bewildered. She likes Craft Day and loves the taste of paste. She has been published in several journals which you have to be on Prozac to receive.

Where do you get the ideas for your work?

A tiny wizened hand reaches out from under my bed with imaginative scrawls on chewed looking post-it notes.