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COURTING
by David Huddle
When a man loves a woman in Glory
River, she runs like fire if she knows what’s
good for her — & most don’t, we admit that much —
because any boy grows up here gets Ugly
for his
middle name. Our boys don’t know how
to take a girl to
Hester’s Drive-in & hold
her hand or call her up &
tell her she’s
pretty or just plant a
soft little kiss
right
below her earlobe — that’s not the way
we do it. We take her for
a ride & jack
the truck up to a
hundred, scare a cold sweat
out of her, then run a
hand up her skirt
& get
slapped good. Timing’s got to be exact.
Look at that moon, we
say in dulcet tones,
jerking a thumb —
Thought maybe you’d like to hear some George Jones.