Eight: suggested proof (poem)

suggested proof

if they were friends, and independent, their odds were not bad

if their status had been desperately unequal, and dependence

soon afterwards began…

millstones, albatrosses, balls-and-chains

five o’clocks in bars and hopes of new friends

but time is the enemy of stable things

a nature that finds contentment wants to cocoon

one curious and seeking, comes to seek the moon

ambition and perfection bring couple-stardom

within the home and hearth

to the man and woman (as in this story, they are)

Then demand fades

people they know move away; their performance no longer

garners praise

she and he show marked divergence as they age

“Well,” says the counsellor, “what is love? What do you think?”

Loyalty…

“But what is loyalty?”

“Respect me. Respect my choices.”

He asks: “That’s respect.”

She shrugs. “Put respect on the list. What do you want, fidelity?”

“Fidelity doesn’t belong in a relationship,” the counsellor says,

neutrally.

“No, but…” And a long silence.

“And if,” the counsellor says, “you had infidelity. Give me a number

between one and ten.”

“It can’t be done. Don’t you see? I don’t want to know. I don’t need it,

being told…having to hear a whole stupid story. I want someone who would

cross borders for me. Throw himself in the path of a grizzly bear.”

He laughs. He laughs until it isn’t funny.

“Couldn’t you?” he asks.

Much later, she says, “To be honest, no.”

suggested proof

Mettle

(2021, Stephanie Foster)