The Mother of the Emperor, Worries


How do I explain his fascination
with garments; a narcissistic
preoccupation with textured things
his love of gabardine?

He used to stand for hours,
arms akimbo in front of the castle’s
bedroom mirror like some deity
worshiping his own chapel.

A midnight- bandit, I’ve caught
him on tape, stealing my best
Chanel, but what’s a mother to do?
And now he rides naked before

the crowd in his royal carriage.
A spectacle extraordinaire,
the Emperor is completely bare
and only a small boy has the balls

to tell him so.



Carol Lynn Grellas is the author of two chapbooks: Litany of Finger Prayers, forthcoming from Pudding House Press and Object of Desire newly released from Finishing Line Press. She is a two-time Pushcart nominee and widely published in magazines and online journals, including most recently, The Hiss Quarterly, Flutter, The Oak Bend Review and an electronic chapbook, Desired Things from Gold Wake Press. She lives with her husband, five children and a blind dog named Ginger.