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.