Romantic marriage is illogical.
Nobody is despised, who can
Successfully make marriage work.
Illogical people are despised.
Therefore, all romantics are not married.

I am held captive in Plato's cave,
Forever, it seems, to be enslaved
To its wall-cast shadows, smells, and sounds,
Which we must accept as true and real
Because our own senses so expound.

But, how do we really know what's true
When perception can give little clue
Why anything matters or perchance
To know why this life is not a curse?
But, when words fall short, I choose to dance.

When Hamelin's least favorite visitor departed,
Many of the township were broken hearted
At loss of their youth, but 'twas not perfect justice.
But where to find another pack, swarm or mischief?
Did Washington, DC ever come to mind?

Rin Tin Tin,  Rudy, Charlie Gray, Sandy,
Dodger, Spike, Uggie, Maui, and the *****
Moose, Aleister, Comet, and Benji,  
Buddy, Spuds, Stella,  Mo: all the best,
But did you know they were shelter pets.

Which means they had been forsaken
For very good reasons it may seem,
But THAT someone was quite mistaken,
Because with patience, understanding,
And even love, each could be redeemed.

I too came to a fork in the path
And also took the less trodden lane,
But one misstep put my arm in a cast
A low branch badly hurt my brain.
I  didn't miss the poison sumac site
Or the nest of swarming bees,
But it turned out to be a splendid day,
When I met my wife in the pharmacy.

Thou yet unravish'd apple of the earth,
Had thou been the issue of a tree, most
Would swear thou are what gave evil birth,
As some kind of Mephistophelean host,
To entice the stressed, as well as bored,
With your crunchy, oily, salty snare,  
A potato-y communion slice,
Where beauty is truth, truth's beauty there -
The facts of which can not be ignored.
If only one could just suffice.

microwave food or
conversations, but
lasting love is best
prepared in a crock ***.