Every liar loves a laugh. Got to love the grief
a handkerchief can bring. As sharp as a reef
that handkerchief, my bully beef, a gold leaf for a
sneak thief. What a relief at last to be lieutenant
not that wax plant Cassio. About as brave as
an eggplant. Probably pees his pants. Trust—
what a bust that is. I’d rather lust, slide
a corsage on Desdemona’s bust, do some office
twixt her sheets. Othello, you jealous fellow,
if you won’t be my lover, then go smother
your wife with a pillow. Any wife of mine won’t
shine. She’ll wither on the vine if she declines
to hide my secret. It’s nothing a knife can’t decide.
Swift slice. Talk about deadline. So nice this life
living on the fault line. Kill here. Kill there.
I’m the heir of revenge. Who can’t I upend
and suspend from breath. Jealousy, my green-eyed
monster friend, whose meat shall we feed on today?
John Davis is the author of Gigs and The Reservist. His work has appeared recently in DMQ Review, Iron Horse Literary Review and Terrain.org. He lives on an island in the Salish Sea.