O STAR-CROSSED LOVERS, O HAPPY DAGGER, O, BY MARGOT DOUAIHY

Now you’re Romeo, O, throwing pebbles at my window, carving my key into your arm.

Now you’re Juliet, O, opening your dress, playing dead to resurrect yourself later.

Now I’m Romeo, swallowed by cold as old poison rolls down my throat, raw O.

Now I’m Juliet, O, tearing my dress, crying wolf!, watching you watch me from afar.

Now we’re Romeo, raging in the tomb, a trapped storm, & O—how we drain the vile.

Now we’re Juliet, stabbing our heart with the dagger. In & O—how deep it slides.

NEXT

Margot Douaihy, PhD, is the author of Scranton Lace and Girls Like You, both published by Clemson University Press. Her true-crime poetry project, Bandit Queen: The Runaway Story of Belle Starr, will be published in 2021. Douaihy's work has been featured in PBS NewsHour, Colorado Review, and North American Review, among others.