WHEN DREAMS DRY UP

When dreams dry up—
When dead dolls dance in rags—
Children are grown—
The full tit, withered, sags—
In memory and wish
The wrinkled penis rises, not in flesh—
Gardens are left to weeds—
Taps drip unfixed—
Dishes reused unwashed—
The music skips—
When there’s no love, not tenderness or lust—
Then let the decades crumble, and the dust
Of marriage not be swept up, but blow away
away
away

Published online: Snakeskin, UK, September 2009