Richard Siken

Volta

It was getting very late. I waited for a different ending. I held my
breath. June, July. The following July. It didn’t swerve. I expected it
to swerve, that’s the promise, the twist at the end, how it pulls against
the way it drives, black ice in moonlight. Something happened and I
turned toward you. Something happened and you turned away. You
didn’t turn back. Listen, this is important. I’m sorry I scared you but
I didn’t die. You don’t get to stay mad about it. You were shitty and
you doubled down and stayed down, investing in it. You renounced
the world so it wouldn't leave first. It worked. If you can't set it down
then fall on your knees and feel the weight of it. I was right about
everything. If it’s any consolation, I’ll never forgive you. You’re
welcome. Let awe end. Just like that. Fair enough.

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Richard Siken is a poet and painter. His book Crush won the 2004 Yale Series of Younger Poets prize, selected by Louise Glück, a Lambda Literary Award, a Thom Gunn Award and was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. His other books are War of the Foxes (Copper Canyon Press, 2015) and I Do Know Some Things (forthcoming, Copper Canyon Press, 2025). Siken is a recipient of fellowships from the Lannan Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. He lives in Tucson, Arizona.