irrelevant poem

(or, how to go years without a lover)

You're not interested in this poem
Nor, for that matter, am i
I try not to dwell on provincial concerns
And refusing to live in the future or past
renders introverted analysis
boring

And yet
How many thousands of nights
have i held my pillow
as a surrogate body next to mine

So…
(for the benefit of others)
I’ll indulge a bit of wherefore

I tasted a good relationship once
Whisper the words “mutual healing”, feel their caress
Having touched it, a non-option is settling for less

Playing the games never interested me
The meat market, a place of noise and surface
Makes me shake my head and smile

A high percentage of the world’s first kisses
Were lubricated by alcohol
(not for you, of course…)
One hookup in my life was thusly facilitated
The life moment i’m least proud of

Most females, even those who never aspire to motherhood
Are drawn to a fancy nest
But a nester i’ve been none

Independence and honesty are strong in me
Most prefer second-rate honesty
And that chestnut about women drawn to men who treat them poorly?
Not true of course, right?
Right?

Many women don’t know how to respond
When you usurp their role
Of determining
when a relationship is ready for sex

Combine all that
With that ol’ unwillingness-to-settle-for-less
And you’d better have that pillow
close by…

2004