Valentines: “Hercules in his Boyfriend’s Hair” by Gustavo Hernandez

HERCULES IN HIS BOYFRIEND’S HAIR

Waves and in a dark so forgiving it doesn’t have to be midnight.
I tell you waves even though in the older myths we are told curls.

I ask you to believe me, lover. It won’t work as well if you do not.
Think of other translations we’ve found permissible: Our hero played

by that famous bodybuilder. To get the job he fudged the truth 
about his stage experience. The chariot scene on the streets

of New York was shot without a permit. Earlier, that Claymation
nightmare where both our men were in their thirties, probably 

classically trained and, I think, British. So, here the boyfriend’s hair 
is the tide, but the fathers are still immortal and long dead. You see

this isn’t some revolutionary departure. We start in a hotel room
with our hero running his fingers through the dark, gold-plated

box chain, a Hawaiian shirt hanging off a writing desk. A blunt
and common scene and message. This myth, like everything

else in the realm of love, can be stripped down to the vulnerable. 
To admitting we need someone to bear our arrows, to guard our bow.

About Gustavo Hernandez

Gustavo Hernandez is the author of the poetry collection Flower Grand First (Moon Tide Press). He was born in Jalisco, Mexico and lives in Santa Ana, California.