“Greek Tastes” by West Ambrose

Give him a job; to count the stars each night; 

(9, 43, 284, 43481, 3, 1, 0, 76, 21, 21, 21, 2 … )

Ursa major; ursa minor; sirius; cygnus; 

I heard someone ask which one is the woman;

Which one is the man; they saw the shadow

box, but not the slight of

hand him a job; to take care of you;

who will fold the laundry; and who

will sit on the council; who will strip

and lay in child’s pose; who will put you to 

bed with a myth and a tweak of the nose;

who makes your lunch and who files

your taxes; who gives speeches and

who sits on the board; who writes your 

speeches and wipes your brow; who

gets to love you and who really knows 

how to count the stars each night; 2, 21, 76, 

1, 0, 3, 284, 43, 9, 43481, 21, 3, 9, 

76…) cygnus; sirius; ursa minor; ursa 

minor details history books forgot and high 

priestess’s envy twisted but could not 

touch the soft shape of hands intertwined 

in a parallel axis;

to count the stars each night,

to take care of you.

About West Ambrose
He/Him, They/Them

West Ambrose is a writer and grad student. They are trans, queer, and disabled/chronically ill. They are fascinated by the works of Herman Melville and in their free time love to find weird old teapots and make granola bars that are both vegan and duck friendly. Their Twitter is @westofcanon and their website is westofcanon.com, where you can find their creative works inspired by antiquity and classic literature.