Crook
I’m at the bar
at 11 am
thinking about Thomas Hardy
because he uses
the word wagonette
in that poem I like
and I can’t help but wonder
if you fall off the wagonette
maybe the fall
isn’t as bad
as falling
off the wagon
maybe you don’t
lose your job
or your wife
in a kitchen sink cycle
of regret
and impoverished
promises
maybe you don’t
lose
your appeal
to heaven
maybe you won’t
be chained to a rock
as an eagle
swoops down
and eats your
liver
but instead
you fall gently
into the crook of the neck
of the woman
sitting opposite you
drinking at the bar
at 11 am
wondering if the man
across the room from her
has ever read
a poem.
Damon Hubbs is the poetry editor at Blood+Honey and The Argyle Magazine. He’s the author of the full-length collection Venus at the Arms Fair (Alien Buddha Press, 2024). Recent publications include RIC Journal, The Disappointed Housewife, BRUISER, Hobart, Ap
