GYPSY LOVE AND WAR

by Stephen Jarrell Williams

Long cold shore
dappled sea
waiting for war

love
gypsy in the middle
young men partying

they will be next
to march away
for some foreign stink hole

waves
slipping foam over wet sand
bare feet

distant clouds creeping in
he kisses her wrapped in a blanket
she has whispered in most of their ears

from the same neighborhood they sharpened their knives
she taught them how to dance from one girlfriend to another
she is the sister to them
first crush
dream girl
through the years she has pressed her breasts into most

they all love her
she will cry when they leave in their uniforms

what has the world done to keep repeating itself?

he squeezes her
the last king of their class

her black curls
down across her shoulders
trembling

she will outlive the whole troop
waving her hand across an empty sea

standing naked in her boots.