Trussed

by Patrick Trombly 

Copyright ©2026

The arch triumphal, raised above your head,

pointe flexed and strapped to idol-worshipped calf –

stiff-necked and flat, you stare up at that red.

She executes adeptly her piaffe

(she deftly steps). Her dress, brushing your chin,

whiffs perfume from beneath black silken sheen.

Startling stabs from her stiletto pin

alert you to the turn in her routine:

the piercing spear that punctures your conceit.

You flinch - so swiftly she brings you to heel.

Wickedly she’ll whisper, then repeat:

“I know your wife.  Be good, or I’ll reveal

to her that this is how your money’s spent.”

You are defined by your predicament.

About Patrick Trombly:

Patrick Trombly published poetry while in college in the 1980s.  He re-emerged as a publishing poet in 2025 and has since published over 20 poems, in a wide range of forms and narrative voices, in various media from competitive university-affiliated literary journals to niche magazines and websites, to anthologies, nationally and internationally.  His first short story will be released in November.  He lives and works in Manhattan. 

Quote: "When I write, I come up with the idea first, and then I develop a narrative, and select or create a form - soul first, character second, body third.  The Shakespearean sonnet has strict rules and conventions, which fit the storyline.  It also finishes with an isolated couplet that can be used for a variety of purposes, in this case a plot twist that gives the title, which is already a double entendre, a third meaning, by introducing a third, very interested, party."