The prince was charming and the princess was sleeping. He told them he did her a favor. She didn’t remember it, so no foul play, surely. He explained that he woke her up, and she confirmed this version of events. A chance encounter. He’d proven unable to resist her allure, was the true victim here. The trouble he suffered by rescuing a damsel from her secluded tower, the many scrapes and scratches from braving thorns; were not his efforts heroic, even worthy of commendation? He was royalty, heir to the crown, wasn’t some sort of diplomatic immunity in the equation, shouldn’t his class be protected from prosecution? His people reigned over these lands, made their laws, must be capable of rewriting them, interpreting extenuating factors, unforeseeable circumstances – look at what the princess wore, after all, offering herself on a silver platter, leaving her bedroom window unlocked – that’s undeniable mitigation.
a midwife delivers day’s end squeals like Lizzy Borden upturning alley bins
broom-handle wire of least resistance easiest, if not the best way recalculated folk physics animal foot traffic erodes soil emulates / imitates electricity ~ creates a desire path current = voltage / resistance the nameless drifters, runaways, junkies in bulrushes contractors, freelancers, entrepreneurs are your gloves white as snow? booze, blowjobs, tabs and pills gods reside in the Big Dipper it’s not a global reference rocket fuel once ignited marijuana, flirtation, restraints recalcitrant phosphoric dirigible damming precipitates an eager flood lurches from a nozzle ball-gags, manacles, chains unsavvy penny-wise dilettante linked bondage ankle cuffs a periphery of unseen stars experience instills simplicity experience is uncut wood find harmony in a derivative ecosystem please, you don’t have to do this
Jerome Berglund, recently nominated for the Touchstone Awards and the Pushcart Prize, has worked as everything from dishwasher to paralegal, night watchman to assembler of heart valves. Many of his haiku, haiga, and haibun have been exhibited or are forthcoming online and in print, most recently in bottle rockets, Frogpond, and Modern Haiku. A mixed media chapbook showcasing his fine art photography is available now from Fevers of the Mind.