Stan Galloway’s most recent poem to appear here was Nocturne in C, a collaboration with Sana Khalesi (April 2012).
The Old Knight
By Stan Galloway
When the princess–
dragons threatening,
odds against her,
fought for and then
rescued by the old unlikely knight–
sees her rescuer and
says a simple thank-you,
turns away to others,
I remember that we do not live in storybooks,
and no matter what some would-be knight achieves,
because he lacks desired age or form,
he lives alone,
integrity and valor
insufficient aphrodisiac.
So sad.
Food for thought. Good one, Stan.