Two Poems

[turmeric]

Two poems to critique;

I Want to Paint This

I like how the full moon
Makes our shadows swim
In and out of the light that falls
From the doorways of coffee shops

Our shadows swim
In and out of each other
In tones of ochre and pale blue
Like some jazz tune.


Why I Never Married

All cats are gray…
All men are cats
In the dark, she said,
And twinkled her mad eyes.

Oh, I didn’t notice it
When I was a child,
I thought, you know,
My prince will come, someday.

But then I got older.
Sometimes he’d get as far
As dinner by candlelight,
Murmuring in my ear -
Saying what I wanted to hear,

And then I’d see the cat-like leer.

I thought maybe it was bad luck.
You never knew who it might be,
Boys I’d grown up with, the neighbors’ kids
So smart and refined – but then

Those eyes like slits, that cat-grin.

I got where I could always tell,
The angle of a cheek,
The chin like a wedge –
The way the face furrowed,

All gave it away,

It’s the truth, my dear.
Some women go their whole lives
Get married, have children – and never see
What a tom-cat they’ve married!

They come in all types and sizes,
The lean rangy hungry ones,
The big friendly purring ones,
The scrappers. I know them all.

I could never do it, my dear,
She said, and shook her tangled head,
It’s just not proper.