|
Away from the reindeer and the tinsel
Jewish singles congregate
searching for that elusive Other.
and the faith is incidental to most of the secular Jews
who are looking for old-fashioned love
with all the trimmings.
brimming with earnest hope
and cynical voices,
no I never come to this sort of event—never
This last, of course, said behind artfully painted red lips,
poised demurely, meeting a coffee cup, still smiling.
Group denial: we are here but
My friend dragged me along; didn’t tell me what it was
Obvious hunger, but
we'll die before we admit it.
If life were a perpetual single's buffet, I'd throw up from
the indecency of desire.
Outside we keep on smiling,
Desperately smiling.
I never want to pack myself in leather again, cleavage provoking
the shy.
I never want to expose myself to taut misery again,
hope contracted so tight
you can hear it snap when it breaks.
by Myna Wallin
from: Vulnerable Positions, ©2002
|
