With this poem, I was playing around a bit with mixing metaphors, sort of. I liked the idea of a lady waiting for her beloved knight to come home from war. But I also wanted to explore a bit how this could be perverted in cases of misogyny or domestic abuse. But not call it out directly. This isn’t the cleanest way to do that, but I was also a college student with no experience in the situation, so take that as you will. I still think it starts getting at the bigger picture I was going for.
His Lady Fair (2003)
The table is laden with a feast
Chairs circling around, sitting tall
Waiting for the lords and ladies to arrive
She ran around the kitchen in heels too tall for walking
Hair pinned in place
Not a strand falling free
June Cleaver was only missing her pearls
Tension seized her shoulders as the front door whined
The ancient hinges announce his entrance like an off-key church bell shouting the victorious return home of men from war
He shed his armor and dropped his sword onto the floor
Kicked his boots off without a care
“Honey, I’m home”
A tight hug was gifted from his lady fair
Who had waited for this moment all day
Like a child waits to be called to the principal’s office
Her conqueror had returned

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