A Poem by Donna Vorreyer

There’s a Very Young-Looking Man Lingering in the Condom Aisle at Target & He Looks Confused Which Cannot Be A Good Sign

It makes sense that the most popular brand

of condoms is Trojans. Not, as one might think,

because they conjure images of strength,

of shield & fortress, but because they are

a promise, & a promise is a gift,

& the most famous gift the old Trojans

received was a wooden horse that, much like

a condom, was a structure that seemed safe

but teemed inside with an army ready

to break & breach & spill its contents out.

Mighty warriors? Yes, but most remembered

for their blunder and belief, so to be

a Trojan really is to be deceived,

to be convinced the gods have blessed your gates.

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Donna Vorreyer is the author of To Everything There Is (2020), Every Love Story is an Apocalypse Story (2016), and A House of Many Windows (2013), all from Sundress Publications. Her work has appeared in Salamander, Baltimore Review, Poet Lore, Sugar House Review, Waxwing, and other journals, and she serves as an associate editor for Rhino Poetry. Twitter @djvorreyer