Salome at the Queen of Hearts by Michael Dittman

Nude dancing has been outlawed in both Galilee and Erie.

Something about these lake towns hates the idea 

of unclothed skin and naked resolve.  

So she ended up here dancing for the town’s 

teachers, barbers, the gainfully unemployed

Who will go home to their wives and daughters, 

grab some sleep and clean up for Sunday morning services

From the Queen of Heart’s parking lot you can 

see the smoke not rising from the stacks 

of the Trinity Steel factories.  

The closing has hurt everyone, even 

the dancers hustle customers faster 

and harder.  Before I sit down, 

Salome’s there, her veils drifting across my back.  

She makes small talk, trying to convince me

she’s thinking of going back to college.

When I offer her a five, she asks, “How about bigger stakes?”

“Stick your neck out,” she says.

I laugh and offer her a cigarette, 

then pause as I see her eyeing 

my pulsing throat with powerful attraction.

Michael Dittman lives and writes outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where he also works as an English professor.  His books include Small Brutal Incidents, Jack Kerouac, and The Beat Generation. Michael's writing often draws from the clash between the natural and created spaces.