Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Kiss by Mitch Grabois



She struts her superior brain
around the house

and into the formal dining room
where she examines a piece of toast
from the artisan bread I baked 
for flaws and imperfections

Is this nutrition
her gaze seems to ask
or merely more calories I will have to burn
to maintain my svelte physique?

Even the reptilian part of her brain
is deluxe
a six-foot long iguana
that lives in the top of a palm tree
dives gracefully as an Olympian
into the blue-green lagoon below

and swims through the depths like
a Fijian pearl diver

 as the human part of her brain
also dives deep
to discern
the darkest dramas of patriarchy

She departs for work
leaving the breakfast dishes
scattered on the counter
where her cat licks egg yolk off her plate
(she’s capitulated to the need for food)
for me to take care of

She doesn’t keep office hours
she keeps office minutes
She is the Abu Dabi Hilton of academicians
Making an appointment with her is like booking a penthouse suite
At faculty meetings she vociferously insists
that the admissions criteria should be raised
Her colleagues have been through this a thousand times
and don’t even hear her anymore

She is disgusted that even the smartest of youngsters 
are insipid 

These dullards are crestfallen as she takes out a scalpel
and a titanium cutting board from a desk drawer
and dissects
a Hershey’s kiss
she’s taken from a crystal bowl on her desk

and using the knife edge
slides diminished portions of chocolate over to them
She leaves the tin foil wrapper for them to dispose of

She sees it in their eyes: they think they deserve an entire kiss
She knows they see it in her eyes: When you deserve a full kiss
you will get one

It’s a short walk from our home to her office
at Prestigious U
Her head floats atop her neck
like a barge floating down the Mississippi

She doesn’t hear
the music piping from the paddle-wheeler’s calliope
doesn’t hear birdsong
or a student playing his guitar
That’s all too trivial for her auditory nerves to register
Her head’s full of
ten thousand ways that women have been victimized

Today
if she’s on her game
she’ll impart a mere dozen to her students

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