- Vol. 10
- Chapter 08
Image by Erica Marsland Huynh
Ninth Life
Oh, the lives!
These eyes have seen
dandy’s dalliance,
a pauper’s dream,
soy merchant’s folly,
scorned love’s scream.
Prized by an adoring queen—
sixth wife of the eighth
vainglorious king—
I warmed her feet as
Empire’s hope swelled,
sat silent vigil by her bed
then the wee babe squalled,
and my queen was dead.
Oh, the places!
These pads have tread
leafy glades,
shell-strewn beds.
Set to pace
in hard-pack room,
enshrined,
disgraced—encased
in an Egyptian tomb.
Ninth Life
Now once more
I venture forth
unadorned,
for the mossy banks
of distant shores.