The list of her beauty as she leans is more willow than Petrarchan, more glade than habit. Her query benumbs me; I—articulate to bone—am left to ponder words unhinged by loveliness. And the book I sought She has found! She has brought it to me in her hands! Oh, I shall bring it back early and ask for it again.

I have seen her—reading! I have seen her exile the rowdy with an eyebrow. I have seen her bring cake, her own flowers and extra sweaters. If only she would scold me in that way she does—as if all the world of laughter flows from her command, that is only almost given. I would write my love so small she might see it in a dream. And I would bring her tea of chamomile.

—Published previously in The Scold’s Romance by Daryl Scroggins (The Ravenna Triple Series, 2012); appears here with his permission.

Daryl Scroggins

has taught creative writing and literature at The University of Texas at Dallas, The University of North Texas, and the Writer’s Garret, in Dallas. He now lives in Marfa, Texas. He is the author of This Is Not the Way We Came In, a collection of flash fiction and a flash novel (Ravenna Press), Winter Investments: Stories (Trilobite Press), and Prairie Shapes: A Flash Novel (winner of the 2004 Robert J. DeMott Prose Contest). His poems, short stories, and creative nonfictions have appeared in magazines and anthologies across the country, including Blink Ink, Cutbank, Eastern Iowa Review, New Flash Fiction Review, Star 82 Review, and Third Wednesday, among others.

More on the Web: By, About, and Beyond

⚡ Roadshow, microfiction by Daryl Scroggins in MacQueen’s Quinterly, aka MacQ (Issue 15, September 2022); one of three pieces by Scroggins selected as Finalists in “The Question of Questions” Ekphrastic Writing Challenge

⚡ Spring, microfiction by Scroggins in MacQ (Issue 12, March 2022)

⚡ Writer Boy, microfiction in MacQ (Issue 4, July 2020); nominated by MacQ for Best Microfiction 2021

⚡ Face of the Deep, ekphrastic prose poem in MacQ (Issue 3, May 2020)

⚡ Field Trips, flash fiction by Scroggins in KYSO Flash (Issue 12, Summer 2019)

⚡ New to School, microfiction in Eclectica (Jan/Feb 2018)

⚡ Two Fictions: “Almost Baptized” and “Against the Current” in New Flash Fiction Review (Issue 10, January 2018)

⚡ Eight Stories: A Mini-Chapbook by Daryl Scroggins at Web del Sol