2018 Spring Contest Finalist: Poetry by Marissa Glover

STAINED

Because I want to forget

the afternoon at the library

in the cramped backseat

of your wife’s sedan:

on my knees between car seats,

Coke cans, and soccer cleats

hidden by a willing rain

loud with promise,

wet with wishing

and the look on your face

that returns books late—

pages stained and marked

for easy reference later

after you’ve forgotten the important parts.

“Stained” first appeared in Rat’s Ass Review: Love & Ensuing Madness, June 2016.

JONATHAN RHYS MEYERS RUINED ME FOR OTHER MEN

On television,

when Henry takes her from behind

he folds her body into his and holds it

hard against his thighs.

His stubble marks a damask rose upon her cheek.

Her crown slips

as his bicep flexes; his hand commands

her neck to learn the lesson Tudors give.

I wonder if this is how it really happened

when the fat king schtooped his fair lady.

Poor Anne—

she dies no matter what,

but now we women find ourselves

aching for a man who was covered in pus-filled boils

and would as soon behead us as bed us.

Marissa Glover teaches writing at Saint Leo University, hosts Friday Night Open Mic, and shares her thoughts more than necessary, which she considers a form of charitable giving. If it counted as a tax deduction, she’d be rich. Her poem “Stained” first appeared at Rat’s Ass Review. Other poems have recently appeared in The Lascaux Review, Stoneboat, and After the Pause, but her best work has always been on her parents’ refrigerator. Follow her on Twitter @_MarissaGlover_.