Marriage a la Mode

Nobody here makes love like this:

with curtains shut against a screaming sun,

minds undone,

fingers fierce or delicate of instance,

hearts unleashed.

 

Here the sink shines like the surface of virtue

and water boils at a hundred degrees Celcius.

Organic courtesies,

hand-picked apologies,

so much to say on the freshness of a lettuce.

 

Nobody here makes loves like this:

with skin and soul,

thorns and teeth.

Nobody speaks like a piece of fiction

or in a way that encourages addiction.

 

‘Isn’t it time we had kids?

They’ll modify our traits to perfection.

We’ll put their pictures on the mantelpiece

as proof of our legitimate completion.

All lovely people should have a couple of these.’

 

Passion is a moment televised,

then dismissed – another neutered wish.

It’s a liaison of legal nature,

a garden of suburban bliss.

Quelle surprise! Nobody here makes love like this.

 

***

MARRIAGE A LA MODE was first published on Rat’s Ass Review, Winter 2017 Issue, 10/12/2017

http://ratsassreview.net/?page_id=2794#Pappa

©️ Basilike Pappa 2017