In Defense of Eva Braun
Suzanne Burns

Blonde body reclined in the Führer's bed,
Berlin in view, imperiled city impaled,
Ironwerks bisecting dress shops and war.
Alone, I mutilate novelettes, anamnesis
Of such cherished coital acts smoldering
As I wait for the man in photographs.

Over schnitzel and brandied schnapps
We once spent a torpid weekend
Denouncing brunette hair
And darker skin, like the liqueur
Of a blighted fruit cursed
To bitter the barrel bottom.

It is unbecoming for a German wife
To flinch at death, or compose
Guilt-weighted love songs for the dying.
My darling promised as we kissed
Beneath our bridal hill, bunker holding
Us safe as prayer folded in giant hands,
How cancer and old age burn
More than any gas.

© 2002 Suzanne Burns

Suzanne Burns's first collection, Blight, debuted from Archer Books in 2001. Her next poetry collection, The Flesh Procession, will be released soon, as will a short-story collection. She is currently working on a third collection of poems, Vacancy. She lives and writes from Bend, Oregon.