appealing

The Maynard
Spring 2015

Valentina Cano

The Devil

I had dinner with the devil,
shook his hand
and spoke of our families.
His wife is expecting twins again
and he jokes of locking away
his two-headed cock.
He nods at the tales
pulled from my home’s pantry,
says “naturally” at all the right moments
and passes the salt when I ask.
He reminds me of you,
a bit,
only a bit,
there in the knife glint of a narrowing eye
and the origami folding of
a sauce-stained napkin.