Fable

for Valerie

The last pages begin gradually.
Fragrant and herbal –
lilac and sage, his lingering promise.

It starts slowly enough,
like the old tales,
the ones that struggle

under their weft.
We see you finally
unhook your heart

and the irregular rhythms ripple
through the forests of the ancient world,
where the creatures know

your name and face,
every want
you can’t let go.

It’s spring, and his voice is still
music. Later it will turn
and darken, become the strange

language of beasts.
In each of the stories
someone is always taken.

This time we learn about it
after the ending,
and only then

the grisly means
of how you came
to pass –

not in the story, but out of it;
in the aftermath,
its sudden, killing cold.

Julian Day lives in Winnipeg, Canada. His work has recently appeared or is forthcoming in The /tƐmz/ Review, CV2, and Rockvale Review.