The Parting of Giants – Rebecca Bennett
She wore a face that launched a thousand thinkpieces
Bone white
like the pallor of women who have clawed out of the ground
dirt on their cheeks, blood under their nails, blinking at the sun
Ivory white
like piano keys, bloodied once-living surfaces shaved until gleaming
your daughter on the bench, trying so hard but off measure
White white
like feminism that navel gazes but still wants to touch your hair
ballif whispering, I hear Lena Dunham wants to direct this
The factum says that they were Titans
Industrious, with busy hands
For an opening statement, we hear that
In an act of creation there’s bound to be
A few scrambled eggs, some girl in the background
Shouting, “what did you do?”
It’s hard to understand what’s worse
Zeus wants to plough every field but his own
A Rake, carving lines in the ground
Sewing new loam. Manifest destiny with dark rooms and quiet cheques
He leaves broken things behind him
But she? She makes sure they stay broken
A swan drapes across her neck, nothing like a noose
Rather, a boneless stretch toward infinity turned stole
Her husband at the lawyer’s table, aglow in energy
Liable to strike and char, used to turning life to ash
Unruffled by the swan, he can grab them by the bevy
They’re all kinds of devastating
Barbie and Ken of wildfire and despair with matching smiles
Able to snatch your attention, your purse
The sound of a gavel incomparable to that of lightning
Whatever the court’s judgment, tomorrow there will be more
Thunder and raking and dead swans around necks
He wore a bespoke suit of spider’s silk and golden fleece
Finely Cut
Like the quilts made by your grandmother
Perfect tiny stitches, cramped fingers and shaky hands
Squared
Like the jawline of the second man who took you to bed
a smirk that you loved at night but hated in the morning
Tied
Like the verdict, an unknown question of who wore it best
Knotted rope that smoothes when you turn your eyes
Rebecca writes speculative fiction with small town flair. She’s based in Canada’s capital and spends her free time as a friendly neighbourhood Associate Editor at Apparition Lit. Her short stories and poetry have been published in Strange Horizons, Bourbon Penn, Devilfish Review and other literary locales. You can follow her occasional tweets at @_rebeccab.