“A Meeting of Stray Minds” (Vegetarian with Carnivore At Valentine’s Day)
A Meeting of Straying Minds
Love is knowing (sort of)
that when I, the vegetarian for many years, grow even more
decrepit, forgetful, blind,
you, who have never
truly understood beans,
will not feed me meat.
It’s a pact that I’ve repeatedly
extracted—”you promise,” I say, nearly
tearful, and you reply, blushingly, yes, no,
of course not, so I’m pretty clear
that even as you too grow old, you will not
slop me into a chair with your extra chop
at my chin–
But what worries suddenly
is me:
that, after decades of non-carnivorous cravings,
I will slaver, in my senility, for
a sliver of your sirloin.
At first, you will saw the cuts with resistance, your elbow
blocking my claw, but, as I whimper, you just might,
in some trumped-up trompe mind’s l’oeil,
excuse the bloody bits as for my good, a poor
woman’s Procrit,
and, careful to whittle away all
gristle, spoon some down my craw.
On the one hand, this a problem in
our love – that you give in to me–and on the other
hand, this is a problem in our love–that you never do
as I ask–and on the third and fourth hands–because thankfully
we have them (clasped), this is also our great
wonder– that you, who try always for the meet and
right, no matter, will be there with me, even
demented,
promoting your sometimes skewed
but always sweetened sense
of my true needs, even if they involve
my grazing from your plate
(something you absolutely hate
in anyone else.)
Though I wonder now whether I shouldn’t get the words
“do not feed meat” tattooed–only they would have to letter
my forehead—(I can’t imagine,
as we recede, you reading below my sleeve)–
and I worry that, with such a phrase emblazoned, people
might feel that they also should keep me from knives–
And there can be so very many lives
in a single life–take the one you lent me when
my old had emptied—
that it is perhaps better to keep vows off
of one’s brow, even those
about meeting someone more
than half-way, the way you meet
me, though that line admittedly
shifts sometimes, while somehow our hearts
stay always
in the exact right place.
**********************************************
The above is for Valentine’s Day! After all my fatigue — vegetarians recover quickly–I am linking this to dVerse Poets Pub prompt Form For All, hosted by Gay Reiser Cannon (about the poetic tool box), and With Real Toads prompt hosted by Susan (about love)
Explore posts in the same categories: poetry, UncategorizedTags: A Meeting of Stray Minds, Love poem about not eating meat, manicddaily, Vegetarian Valentine, Vegetarian's love poem, what we talk about when we talk about senility at my house
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ManicDDaily 
February 14, 2013 at 6:46 pm
smiles…you might want to wait a bit before getting that tattoo…smiles….there is something endearing here though…the admissions that he gives in…and doesnt do what you say..yet there is love…so many lives in a single life caught me as well…nice k…
February 14, 2013 at 7:23 pm
k- what a completely touching and loving and hilarious poem. I can see my own marriage mirrored – loved the hands (clasped) – in fact that whole stanza was just wonderful – beautiful write for valentines day – lovely! K
February 14, 2013 at 8:12 pm
Relationships are so like this, k–a merge and shift of our beings with the other, a perpetual dance to meet each other where things will work, whether its half-way or on our knees sometimes. A lovely love poem full of alliteration and illumination and loving the trump of trompe l’oeil. Not to mention the keeping knives and sharp implements away thing.
February 14, 2013 at 8:16 pm
Ha. Thanks. I felt that was a bit of a digression, but it also felt funny to me. k.
February 14, 2013 at 9:12 pm
I do like how you wander through different cordons of the relationship tangle…it’s confusing at times… I just loved that last stanza it summed up so well. Very enjoyable read.
February 14, 2013 at 9:19 pm
It IS confusing. You know, I know how it is supposed to read, and I probably supply the gaps. In general, anything I read is supposed to only pause at the punctuation and not the line breaks, but I think that causes a kind of confusion. k.
February 14, 2013 at 10:58 pm
You knocked my socks off with this amazing not-a-word-wasted love tale. Like the film Amour, it wrestles with the promise and how love might alter it, even the love of the one who needs the promise. And you made me laugh too, with tears in my throat of the image of the narrator’s forehead lettered and how she might be denied knives. I loved the symmetry of the paradox and ultimately the necessary shifting line Wonderful.
February 14, 2013 at 11:05 pm
Thanks do much, Susan. You are very kind. K.
February 14, 2013 at 11:27 pm
This made me smile…it brought tears also. What a delightful piece!
February 15, 2013 at 12:24 am
absolutely love this and made me smile as well..so much depth under your light-hearted voice as well…and i wanna see that tattoo once you get it..ha…but maybe you don’t really need it..smiles
February 15, 2013 at 12:52 am
Oh what love. You should put on a recording. It would sound simply marvelous…
February 15, 2013 at 1:30 am
i also don’t eat meat, and i can totally understand how you feel in this
kooky kinesthetics
February 15, 2013 at 2:44 am
…so hard when two different nature joined in together but, maybe, there’s truth when one said ‘opposite merely attracts’…. for me this is quite different form what i’ve read from yours… but i liked it… smiles…
February 15, 2013 at 2:50 am
k. What an amazing piece of writing. I was hooked from the get go and totally absorbed all the way through ~ a beautiful and engaging read ~ your love expressed and explained ~ marvellous
February 15, 2013 at 6:19 am
a beautiful whimsical story of love =)
February 15, 2013 at 7:04 am
You told me it was silly, and I agree with your husband, meat is good, but it’s not entirely silly! Unfortunately, if he’s anything like me, you should strongly consider the tatoo. Not that I’d do it out of meanness, but simply to hear you say, yuuummmm.
February 17, 2013 at 7:04 pm
Hi Charles – this got sent to spam so didn’t see it. Thanks much! My husband is a big hunter and pretty much lives on venison – I, in contrast, have been vegetarian for maybe 40 years(?)–something like that! I do eat fish now and again, against anemia. But who knows? Maybe I’ll feel differently! Anyway, tattoo on hold for now. k.
February 15, 2013 at 10:00 am
For being the most non-sentimental love poem I’ve read in a long while, this certainly cuts to the heart. with authentic voice and emotional investment. so much in relationship, especially the intimate ones, is about trust. I really enjoyed this very strong poem, k. phrase emblazoned and slop with extra chop are some of my favorite sounds here.
February 15, 2013 at 10:09 am
Thanks so much, Jane.
February 15, 2013 at 3:35 pm
🙂 I loved it. There was a nice mix of humour and earnestness about it, especially in the first lines. Many thanks.
Greetings from London.
February 15, 2013 at 4:28 pm
my favorite aspect is the inherent connection between the two, beyond the words and conversation.
February 15, 2013 at 4:43 pm
Thank you, Kim. k.
February 15, 2013 at 4:52 pm
Fancy seeing your work on dVerse.
Nice piece.
Be safe
February 15, 2013 at 4:54 pm
Reblogged this on yasniger and commented:
A meeting of minds as well
February 15, 2013 at 6:44 pm
Thanks. k.
February 15, 2013 at 9:56 pm
Sharp! Fabulous humor! D