They keep doves in the palace & release them
Ceremoniously each sunset to mark the work
Of women greeting husbands return from war
They light candles to hide the scent of sweat
In the red bedchambers while children watch
Maids turndown sheets warmed w/ stones
From the garden where their mothers weep
Silently mid prayer let us find all our answers
Among the hyacinth & roses whose oil we drop
Onto our pulse points our personal stigmata
Scheherazade bids goodnight to her sister
Then refuses the dagger they both smuggled
This far into her own unfinished fairytales
Standing together they ask for one last story
RJ Equality Ingram works as a used bookseller for Goodwill Industries of the Collumbia Willamette. Their first collection of poetry The Autobiography of Nancy Drew is forthcoming from White Stag Publishing in early 2024. RJ received their MFA in creative writing from Saint Mary’s College of California with concentrations in poetry & creative nonfiction. More work can be found in Phoebe Journal, Miniskirt Magazine & Citron Review among others. RJ’s cat Brenda lost a leg designing her memory palace.