War Bride

Byebye baby, bon voyage
to those long ago rebel girls
who sailed out on a wind
of Whatever Will the Neighbours Think
like our jaunty auntie away on her quest
for the land where real silk stockings grow
(So does it matter that he may have been a little vague
about the mileage between deepest Mississippi
and the nightclubs of midtown Manhattan?)
but those old postcards prove
she didn't linger long
and went cruising off to wherever next
while scattering our lovely DNA
like tiny rose petals upon the waters
bequeathing us (and you)
a planet full of kissing cousins.