diff --git a/src/lavinmq/amqp/argument/dead_lettering.cr b/src/lavinmq/amqp/argument/dead_lettering.cr
index 474039f189..c31a81b7c0 100644
--- a/src/lavinmq/amqp/argument/dead_lettering.cr
+++ b/src/lavinmq/amqp/argument/dead_lettering.cr
@@ -197,3 +197,8 @@ module LavinMQ::AMQP
     end
   end
 end
+
+# Queue includes DeadLettering, so requiring queue.cr at the top would make the
+# include fail when this file is the compilation entry point. Requiring it here,
+# after the module is defined, works from either direction.
+require "../queue/queue"