Love

By Michael Montlack

What do you want? it asks.  

As if offering something, no strings.  

When I don’t answer: What, what …
What do you want?  

Pesky jester in my chest.  

How do I silence his bells?

Maybe I want  

not to want for a while.  

To be clothed like a modest queen
at the king’s pyre. Married only
to the power of independence.
A string of pearls, her fine collar.
Masterfully masterless. Yes.  

What do you want. 

What do you want.

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Michael Montlack (he/him) is the author of two books of poetry and editor of the Lambda Finalist essay anthology My Diva: 65 Gay Men on the Women Who Inspire Them (University of Wisconsin Press). His recent publications include Prairie Schooner, Cincinnati Review, The Offing, Barrow Street, and North American Review. In 2020, two of his poems were nominated for Pushcart Prizes and another was a finalist for Best of the Net.