What Rose Wanted
What Rose wanted
was for me to land
with my crew, racing
to her in the stealth
of night to bring
her fast to our boats.
She wanted Mass
in chapel the next
day and jeweled
windows braiding colors
across her face. She
wanted bright torches
of me and the flames
of every star. Look, she
said, they go to conquer
some army like themselves
in night fields far. Conquer
me, she said, make me
Crusade.
Charles Bane, Jr. is the American author of The Chapbook (Curbside Splendor,
2011) and Love Poems (Kelsay Books, 2014). A writing contributor for The
Gutenberg Project, he is a current nominee for Poet Laureate of Florida.