July 2018
Robert Wexelblatt
wexelblatt@verizon.net
wexelblatt@verizon.net
NOTE: I live in Wakefield, Massachusetts and teach at Boston University. My most recent book is Petites Suites. For July, two contrasting pieces about the same thing, more or less.
Sex is Too Expensive
Cecilia ran up fearful debts,
Gertie’s games were unerotic,
Jane’s husband made specific threats,
Emily turned out psychotic.
When Sue took me to meet her folks
They insulted and abused me.
Christina never got my jokes.
As for Betty, she just used me.
With Pamela, I truly tried.
She shot me down by telephone:
“I said I loved you? Well, I lied!”
Go argue with a dial tone.
Long weekends wear away the soul
And New Year’s Eve distills distress;
Summer levies a hefty toll
In vacancy and emptiness.
Yet one can stand a pain that’s dull;
You only pay the monthly rate.
To sink funds in a life more full
Makes shy investors hesitate.
A couple walking hand in hand,
Her smooth content, his rugged pride,
Pairs and pairs stretched on the sand--
Envy costs less than suicide.
Julie’s breast held a fist of bone;
I gave her up and nearly died.
Now, excise paid, I sleep alone.
Eros, I trust you’re satisfied.
Solitude’s an expensive art
Beyond the means of fools who weep
And to their sleeves affix their heart.
Still, resignation isn’t cheap.
Fifth Date
She:
We may stroll sometimes together,
at others not; moments will come
when we’re at one; but enmity
can erupt in an instant, just
because of our affinity.
Similitude breeds sympathy
but not identity of mind.
He:
I love you and I disagree.
“Sex Is Too Expensive” first appeared in Poem
“Fifth Date” first appeared in Yes, Poetry
© 2018 Robert Wexelblatt
“Fifth Date” first appeared in Yes, Poetry
© 2018 Robert Wexelblatt
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