Against Wives
Opal autumn moon:
the housewives hate you
Your reincarnation is too real
for the married ladies
who sing phoney lullabies
Colours of deadlock dye the dresses
of the wives
to dark chevron shades
Their cartwheel hearts smell of scent
as they dance their men along
the paths of each herb garden
The smiles of the wives
are like a series of shallow waterfalls
But moon
tasting like a deer’s sweetbread,
tasting like pearly ink,
they don’t want anything
to do with you,
the married ladies in their clean moonless rooms
The married ladies
have their Infantas
and Heirs to think of . . .
Hostages in perambulators . . .
New moon,
new arrival:
no welcome: the wives are walking in their apartments,
and can only scowl at the calm crescent knifing the window dark
The wives smile at one another like glass-makers,
they light candles in their own honour,
clutching the green jewels of their alimony . . .
Wives don’t need moons
Lazy afternoons of sun burn their skins
brown as money
Sun needs no deciphering
and toughens lies and defections for winter
Page(s) 29-30
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