AND LET’S NOT FORGET THE WOMEN

because you know without them
none of you would even be here,
you’re not supposed to bite the hand
that feeds, but if you do (you always do),
don’t be surprised by sus patas negras—
male lovers—in the cupboard or on the night
stand, see, the thing about Patagonian women
is they can taste the difference in your skin,
taste if you bring home a different soap, apricots
instead of pomelos, black seed oil instead
of manzanilla, don’t expect her to wait for you
to tell her she’s beautiful—her cabin is home
to many, many boots pointed towards the door—
and if you’re not careful, one day you’ll come home
walk through the threshold as husband, but remain
a guest, just a guest in a house that no longer
feels familiar but you can’t put a name to it, not until
later when you touch her body and part her lips
only to find yourself choking
on a mouthful of salt.

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Born in Miami, Dana De Greff is an MFA candidate in fiction from the University of Miami and the Founder & Executive Director of PageSlayers Summer Camp, a 2016 Knight Arts Challenge Winner. She has been accepted or awarded scholarships from Tent: Creative Writing; the Tin House Summer Writers’ Workshop; and The Key West Literary Seminar. Her work appears in Philadelphia Stories, Hawai’i Pacific Review, Gulf Stream Magazine, and elsewhere.