Virtue and Terror | Meg Nadine Wenzel
Recall the hands that were
used to smooth the divots of your gaze,
that gaze which seizes my own in the corner
of this room.
You see me only when I'm leaving,
but I accept this as positive:
you have looked at me,
if only just a guess of me.
Water the Malmaison gardens
with the well to weave
exotic flowers into Joséphine's heart,
but even in its failure to thrive,
love had bloomed where the roots broke
through the concrete.
Now, wipe the blood from the guillotine
on the Place de la Révolution—
Saint-Just, will you stay by my weary side
until this blade sets me free from this pain?
Camille and his Lucile, our words have faced their meanings.
Lâches...
Meg Nadine Wenzel is a third-year college student studying English/Creative Writing + Archaeology in hopes of pursuing a career in historical literary conservation and teaching. She paints when she's not writing, writes when she's not painting, and works on managing Pink Ochre Magazine when she's not writing or painting. Outside of Pink Ochre, she also assists in running her college literary magazine, Red Clay.