Mathematics

I think of women with their hearts like clocks

Combing with minute-hands their sweep-second locks,

Touching for an instant with mathematic eyes

Love letters bundled in dime-roll ties.

They count the minutes after when you said you’d call,

Number horny footsteps coming up the hall.

They count the times you wince, count apologies and kisses,

Number on their hands the wins, and on their feet the misses.

I think of them as dance-mistresses monitoring the beat,

Your passion they reduce to foot-candles of meat.

They put their loves on calendars, leaving Wednesdays free

To meet themselves at four o’clock, discuss accounts at tea.

They audit gains and losses, gross and net cashed,

Minutes saved efficiently, overhead slashed,

Manpower maximized, union dues rebate:

How mean to profit quarterly, and never liquidate!

                                               - c. 1980