shopping around for love

:  u l r i k e   g e r b i g

we try on love
like a new piece of clothing
looking for a new style
enhancing our best features

we buy hastily
lest the style changes
and we will be seen
as out of date

proudly we present ourselves
in public
and in mirrors
amazed at the beautifying power
of love

the first pinch
tells us
it must be the wrong model
not the extra weight
we have collected
over the years

we dream of something
custom made, the perfect fit
that must be out there
somewhere

the mere thought
of needing exercise
for mind and body
bathes our knotted brow
in sticky sweat

we do not want to go there
anymore

and anyway, anytime
we can slip out of the affair
like out of a new suit
and hang the unfamiliar piece
in our closet.

We wear our old life
like a comfy sweater
sitting on the couch
waiting around to die
in silence and
commodious solitude

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© copyright 2004, ulrike gerbig
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