Inès Montel

Contributor

Is love rough or gentle

Sitting quietly on the mantle

Of the bed 

Licked its paws idlily 

Perched on the dark oak 

Green piercing eyes

Glowing in the dark

Of the bedroom

The light of the streetlamp

Outside the window

And the soft hue of the moon

Reflect on your tender face

Smothered in sleep

Resting on the white pillow

Can love be mine?

Exposed on the vanity

In a blue crystal vase

Like a famous painting 

Of the 19^th century

Beside the corroded mirror 

And the used lipsticks

Red, pink, nude, champagne—

Can love be kind?

Served out of the green carton 

Into a clear glass

Flavoured with a

Teaspoon of honey

Consumed in gulps

Leaving a white moustache 

Upon your lips

Can this love last a lifetime?

Smoked halfway

By a rock singer

On tour 

Its butt left to rest

In an aluminum ashtray

Picked up by a groupie

And stashed into 

A plastic bag

Can we love now?