everyadventure
02-14-2011, 12:50 PM
2000:
Roses arrive, two dozen
even though we broke up three months ago
and you moved to Maisons-Alfort, on the outskirts of Paris
(remember how I would have failed French class
if you had not tutored me, holding my cheeks,
roundly opening my jaw around my R's
and placing a gentle hand on my throat
saying, "It begins here…")
There is a note nestled in the fragrant blooms
typed, no doubt, by an employee at the local floral shop:
"Just be happy."
I slump against the foyer wall
maybe if I'd paid more attention in class
I would understand
2002:
Six months married,
newlyweds,
I went to three shops
seeking perfection in your favorite color
(do you realize how difficult it is
to find lingerie in green?)
and found it at last,
lace and satin and scintillating clasps
After dinner you go to your office down the hall
and I undress, dabbing perfume behind my knees
and lining my lips carefully with crimson
I light the candles and call, "Come to bed, honey."
"In a minute," you say,
and I fluff the pillows
and imagine your face
Thirty minutes later:
"I'm waiting, baby…"
and you say
you'll be right there
An hour passes
and the candles burn low
Ferociously I blow them out
then stalk to the closet
and pull out flannel pajamas
(not green)
and get into bed, back towards the door
An hour later,
you creep in
I'm prepared to be cold, but you don't give me the chance
you turn your back to mine
and the distance between us is greater
than the Atlantic Ocean.
Roses arrive, two dozen
even though we broke up three months ago
and you moved to Maisons-Alfort, on the outskirts of Paris
(remember how I would have failed French class
if you had not tutored me, holding my cheeks,
roundly opening my jaw around my R's
and placing a gentle hand on my throat
saying, "It begins here…")
There is a note nestled in the fragrant blooms
typed, no doubt, by an employee at the local floral shop:
"Just be happy."
I slump against the foyer wall
maybe if I'd paid more attention in class
I would understand
2002:
Six months married,
newlyweds,
I went to three shops
seeking perfection in your favorite color
(do you realize how difficult it is
to find lingerie in green?)
and found it at last,
lace and satin and scintillating clasps
After dinner you go to your office down the hall
and I undress, dabbing perfume behind my knees
and lining my lips carefully with crimson
I light the candles and call, "Come to bed, honey."
"In a minute," you say,
and I fluff the pillows
and imagine your face
Thirty minutes later:
"I'm waiting, baby…"
and you say
you'll be right there
An hour passes
and the candles burn low
Ferociously I blow them out
then stalk to the closet
and pull out flannel pajamas
(not green)
and get into bed, back towards the door
An hour later,
you creep in
I'm prepared to be cold, but you don't give me the chance
you turn your back to mine
and the distance between us is greater
than the Atlantic Ocean.