A Prince’s Soliloquoy

Truth be told,
I wish she would
unkiss me,

turn me back
into the frog I was
and happy being.

Give me back nights
I dared the moon,
fat and round,

to step down
and skinny-dip
until dawn.

My velvet britches?
This silver crown?
Nothing here even close

to those moments
when she dropped her cloak,
tested the waters

with her toes,
then slipped in and silvered
my dark pond.

This appeared in the December 2013 issue.

Ricardo Sternberg

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