PET ENVY
I am jealous
of the way he
touches Angie,
stroking, patting, massaging her,
making room in his chair—
even when he’s eating.I am jealous
of the way he fills her bowls,
and how he lets her slather his face
with her pink tongue.He feeds her with his hands.
The last thing he fed me
was a compliment
I fished for.Has he forgotten the foods
we ate with our fingers
and other body parts?
Chocolate sauce drizzled on our thighs?And how about the games we played:
Sticky Nipples in the Land of Milk and Honey.
Bella on the Half Shell.
Whip Cream Monopoly.The garden offered as many delicacies as the kitchen.
Has he forgotten the rose petal treatment?
One layer softer than the next?
Can she do that for him?I’d settle for a walk
around the block, holding hands
so when he says he’s taking her
for a hike in the canyon
just the two of them,
I shrink inside
and remember what it was like
to be newly wed,
before I knew anything
of struggle and the distance
that comes with time.
From SECRETS OF MY SEX.