Susan Lynn Leary Verse-Virtual 2017 May

May 2017

Hi! I am a Lecturer in English Composition at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, FL, where I live with my husband, Sean, and our sweet wheaten terrier, Ellie. I enjoy coffee, nighttime, and the lizards on my patio. My most recent creative work appears or is forthcoming in Steel Toe Review and After the Pause.

Maid of Honor
- for S.E.E. -

How the mighty Queen sits
upon her throne,
her hair long and sewn of jewels,
graced she is by privilege
and the tradition of royal parents—and how august
the quick pace of black
and silver feet
that approach in the quiet of the court,
with such nerves and humility do they report
and beseech—and how she turns,
with a soft tongue,
to you—her princess warrior—for your fierce loyalty
to the realm, more fierce than the claw
of her fingers
around the iron arms
of her chair,
while you, keeper of secrets, have relaxed your veins
and demanded your heart to cool.
Such a trustful knight,
out now to joust with your forest ghost,
and through the trees he comes—your forest ghost—every limb
weighed down
by snow,
though alert you are to dismount your horse
and pierce the unrelenting gallop of an enemy soul—a wonder,
lifting your helmet,
that no blood is ever shed.
Yet return he will again: tomorrow, and the next
day and the day after that,
and after the ice has thawed, and when you inform your Queen
of what was seen,
she will send forth, urgently, the dogs,
and command you to stand
next to her: robust, in full armor,
and proud.

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