CREON CREATES HIS OWN TRUTH

 
It took me years to see the chaos

he wanted to create—he brought

blight to the roses and cut them

back to claim the cure. All summer,

he set small fires with words

but kept his hands clean.

He pit us against each other

as if we were all invasive species

in his groomed garden. As we sat

under the golden rain tree, I worried

the sliver of moon would incur

his wrath for its imperfection.

Fear is an addictive drug. When

he fits his tight fist around my throat

now, I hear his lies as lies. My crime

is thinking for myself. Hannah Arendt

believed forgiveness is the key

to freedom. I cannot agree.

Jennifer Franklin has published two full-length collections, most recently No Small Gift (Four Way Books, 2018). Her third book, If Some God Shakes Your House, will be published by Four Way Books in 2023. Her work has been published in American Poetry Review, Blackbird, Boston Review, Broadsided Press, Gettysburg Review, Guernica, JAMA, Los Angeles Review, Love’s Executive Order, The Nation, New England Review, Paris Review, Plume, “poem-a-day” on poets.org, and Prairie Schooner. She teaches in Manhattanville's MFA program and the Hudson Valley Writers Center, where she serves as Program Director. She lives in New York City. Her website is jenniferfranklinpoet.com.