That’s Why I’m Through With You

Eyes closed and yet wide open,
consenting to whatever needs to be done,
ready to be licked and nibbled,
eaten up, swallowed, digested, forgotten—
is that what it takes to prove your love?

What am I supposed to do?
Lick off the caramel coating,
as from a baked and candied apple?

You said it was the Golden Rule:
That we have to do unto each other
what each of us wants the other to do.
I think something was lost in translation.

This is no way to treat a fellow human being,
even if that person wants to be treated that way—
even if that person is only you.

Don’t do that to yourself.
Don’t do that to anyone else.
Don’t do it to me, it’s not my religion.
That’s why I’m through with you.