A Failure of Intelligence

by Kake Huck

She pulls thin cotton over
nipples dark with henna,
checks a pimple on her chin
in shining bronze.

The war outside the walls can't
touch her here. She's come of age
with rumors, pleasing heroes
with songs that scorn the stink of death.

Serving plums as rosy as her breasts
she's heard both sly and brave
praise their city's famous towers:
"Life will continue as it always has."

After ten years she yawns to hear it's over,
peace coming with a horse that looks like home.

Kake Huck holds a PhD from the University of Utah and is currently taking part in the MFA Creative Writing Consortium, organized through the California State University, Chico. She has published in Weber Studies, Pearl, Spindrift, and Harpur Palate. She lives in Oregon.