KATHERINE: OPENING ARGUMENT

by Mark Neely

 

 

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury,
desire is a furious splendor

worth a hundred men, exuberant
or staid, bearded or shaven, it doesn’t

matter—they’re all beautiful
when they’re young and glow

like armored coursers. The one felony
of passion is to let its luster dull,

to drape age around you like a dusty
coat and pretend a lovely body

is a bauble maturity has taught you not
to crave. Inside me a filly cavorts

and romps until my blood
runs like gasoline exploding

again and again inside a boiling
engine. Yes, she gets me into trouble—

charging headlong down every icy pass,
her bridle burning my wrists—

but I would be insane to shoot that horse,
or rein her in until she’s one more chestnut hearse

winding toward the cemetery.
Just like I was insane to marry.

 

 

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