For Daniel and Nadine
I know this place
for Chinese
zither music
just the right volume
the perfect menu
for us, Dim sum
General Tao and
coconut peanut chicken
gluten-free
easy on the soya sauce
and no MSG
we skip dessert
run home
light a candle
and make love
no laws broken
no movie
required.
No laws broken? Wasn't sure what you meant by that ... unless I missed the whole point, as I am apt to do.
ReplyDeleteHi Kelp, well, what did you think the point was?
ReplyDeleteNo laws broken ... because you're married (i.e., it's not adultery, not an "affair")?
ReplyDeleteNo laws broken ... because you can get away with a cheap date?
No laws broken ... because you haven't broken with tradition (i.e., Valentine's Day).
Hi Kelp,
ReplyDeleteThose sound like good options. Actually I wrote the poem after speaking with my friend Daniel and asked him what he did with his partner Nadine on Valentine's Day. He described going to their favorite Chinese restaurant. Daniel is in the film business. Nadine is a lawyer. Hence the ending. Sounded good to me. As I thought more about it, we have this romantic notion of love from the movies. It's often a swashbuckling tale about a fight, a hero, a rebel who goes to extraordinary lengths, which often includes law breaking to win the woman he loves etc. that sort of thing. I was struck by how love can be expressed in a much simpler more routine way, and maybe that's the truer expression. Something extraordinary (love) expressed in a quotidian way, which in my mind is the secret to an enduring love, with appreciation and gratitude.
Perhaps then it's not as much about law-breaking as it is about the breaking of conventions, of attempting to express love in a simpler, less cliched fashion. I dig. I whole-heartedly agree with this sentiment ... "Something extraordinary (love) expressed in a quotidian way, which in my mind is the secret to an enduring love, with appreciation and gratitude."
ReplyDelete