CHATGPT

I wrote you a letter

Then asked ChatGPT to improve it

It was so improved it did not sound like me at all

Like anything I would ever say to you

If I send it will you be impressed by the new me?

Not knowing it was ChatGPT?

Will it change our relationship?

And will you secretly use it to upgrade your response to me?

So that I think you rose to the occasion

Or maybe used ChatGPT yourself?

So while AI is talking to itself

You and I are not entirely comfortable 

With each other anymore

Too hard to keep up

A competition instead of a conversation

Till we give up and walk away

Looking for an easier friendship

Le Menu

Amuse-bouche

French air kisses - a delicacy, a light brush of each cheek to be shared with friends of equal sophistication and perhaps pretentiousness that went out of fashion during the Covid epidemic.

Pair with an Hermes handbag and tickets to the Met Gala.

Entrée

Kiss of life - otherwise known as CPR, a forceful exhalation of breath into your expiring victim who will be eternally grateful to be able to move on to the next course as these reservations took 6 months to get.

Pair with mouthwash.

Plat principal

Romantic kiss - preferred by women, let us call it the fish course.  Gentle, passionate, cannot be faked. À volonté.

Pair with caresses.

Sexy kiss aka French kiss - preferred by men, let us call it the meat course.  Relevé. Deep-throated, devouring, a prelude to a very interesting night indeed.

Pair with silk handcuffs.

For anyone who orders both, this is the person on whose funeral pyre on the Ganges you would throw yourself.  Marry them.

Plat du jour

Kust de hand - an antique and courtly gesture of kissing the hand of a woman to whom you are devoted or from whom you wish to obtain a favor.

Pair with breeches that will not split when you bend down so obsequiously.

Fromage

Hickey - this course is often skipped, the mark it leaves is as offensive as the smell of Limburger.

Pair with, oh how would I know?

Dessert

Good-bye kiss - this comes in infinite flavors depending on the occasion, the mood, and whether you care to see them again.

Pair with a handkerchief.

Digestif

Kiss of death - this is the result of overindulgence in the above.

Pair with an ambulance.

BECAUSE

If I must be haunted let it be by 
The black velvet dress I didn’t buy because 
I would never have anywhere to wear it. 
The message I never answered because 
A week was too long to make me wait. 
The song I didn’t get up and dance to because 
Everyone else was eating or talking. 
The flower I did not leave on your desk because 
I didn’t want anyone to notice. 
Anything but not picking up the phone the last time 
My mother called before she died.

Mean Angels

Did you expect an angel to hover over your first kiss,

Hold you back from that car running over your foot,

Sound trumpets when you finally got promoted?

The mommies and daddies.  

But you already have those.

Don’t let the snow hair fool you.

 It was only meant to make you look twice,

Look at the black eyes, elemental, fierce.

Now watch him move.

That left hook to an ankle, an earthquake in the Philippines,

The rush to the goal, an avalanche in the Himalayas,

The collision, a final embrace of binary stars.

And then the puck to the right thigh, the scream opens a black hole

In a nearby galaxy.

Sit back and open a can of beer, creation is a blood sport 

And you’re going to love every minute of it.

GHOSTS

Once upon a time thoughts turned into meters and perfume 
Airports and cake 
We undressed earth right down to her petticoat 
Nothing left now but those first thoughts 
Wafting in the wind like autumn leaves 
Red, orange, yellow 
Beautiful, so beautiful, death is so beautiful.

MIGRATION

The map is changing. 
Everyone wants to be 
Somewhere else 
They get there and find 
It no longer exists 
We are all nowhere now 
We do not know who we are 
When we discover that 
We will rename our lands 
Reconsecrate our seas 
Baptize our children 
Alleluia

GALAXY M104

800 billion suns – 
Did God create a sun 
And so fall in love with it  
He couldn’t stop, 
Like a little girl with a big pile of paper 
And scissors, singing and cutting out 
Endless paper dolls, 
Then, tired of this little game, 
Dancing off to have a tea party with  
Her seven dolls all named Georgia. 
Georgi, would you like a cookie? 
Why yes, thank you, I think I would. 
George, more sugar? 
Oh pretty please, lots more. 
George, you are spilling. 
Oh, I am so so very sorry. 
Red dwarfs, black holes, spiraling galaxies, 
Leftovers of this mad tea party 
Strewn about a mute, uncomprehending 
Universe, remnants of a passing fancy, 
God’s wave of the hand saying 
Look, look at what I can do 
And in his loneliness hoping 
Mommie will come in and say 
Oh, what a clever little thing you are.

DESIRE

Staring out to sea 
He caught me with a glance 
Knocked me to my knees 
Grabbed me by the hair 
Dragged me down the street 
Tossed me into bed 
Bloodied up the sheets 
Kissed my fluttering eyes 
Drank deeply from the well 
Spread me with his thighs 
Rang the secret bell 
Whispered in my ear 
Baby, I ain’t staying 
Came back every night 
Now it’s love who’s praying. 
Woke me up one night 
Said it’s time to go 
Watched me from the door 
How was I to know 
One more kiss he said 
Its lying breath was sweet 
Swallowed me out of time 
Back I cannot reach.