Knut Kargel & Yolantha Harrison-Pace 

The Wife
or Ode To Michelle Obama
or A Poem for Reggie And Barack
all day
he slays dragons
and reroutes cyclops
and foils godzillas.
he spouts diplomacy.
he battles the words of war,
orates global efficiency.
at night
he sighs
and cries
and whimpers
and loses his temper.
she listens and patches,
and retools and bakes batches
of his favorite cookies and pours
milk to renew his ilk
so he can go another day...
the hero.
the hero to face
and displace
the universal demons that
come his way.
the woman behind the man
the wife.

Lover's Lament
the lovin'
was good.
unbelievable.
almost too good.
then she would
leave.
turnover in bed,
she was done.
he'd reach for her.
she inched away.
good night she'd say,
and distance herself in sleep.
he would turn over
and weep.
he could not even spoon
for she slept straight.
if only he could rest.
rest holding her hand.
a simple request
not a demand.
perhaps he could have
kept her
yes the sex was good
but just only if she would
have held his hand
he'd have been a
complete man.

The Maiden's Poem
i'm here, i say
i'm here.
he awakens and
she buttons on his breasted suit
and straps the laces of his boots.
he goes out on his search.
i'm here, i'm here.
he scours the sands
making demands
and i am the answer
right here.
he over turns mountains
and under turns oceans
in his quest.
when i'm here and
can attest to the details
of his best
at the end of
the day i listen to
what he has to say.
i untie his shoes
and listen to his blues.
i unbuckle his belt
and feel what he felt
in his unquenched thirst
as he puts all things first
and never notices
i'm here
his last breath comes
and he fights death's doldrums
for the love he never found.
yet i was always around
i close his eyes and
wipe his last tear
lean in close
my lips to his ear, i whisper
again you're gone
and i'm still here. i'm here.