My Monogamy Poem

FYI: This is meant to be what I call a rhetorical poem. That is I make use of rhetorical devices and emotional language to get across the point and may have more in common with a soap box speech than a lyrical poem. Thus the "poetry" part of it comes from the fact that it is designed to be performed/shared within the context of verbally shared poetry. And I have done so on several occasions and gotten a very positive response. As such you will not get the full effect just from reading it unfortunately... :( sorries...


Monogamy is Obsolete

Our fictional standard is
relationships in TURMOIL.

Every Heroine cheats.
All Couples get divorced.

Men want STABILITY on A&E,
and women can't commit outside of
Lifetime & Seventh Heaven.

But those shows still reflect our belief
that Monogamy is somehow IDEAL.

The T.V. boyfriend says:
"I can forgive you as long as it didn't mean anything."

As if LOVE is what really makes
INFIDELITY dirty.

And the T.V. Husbands say:
"I can't stand the idea of another man inside of her."

Because nothing can
render a woman WORTHLESS like
another man's sperm.

And maybe that's it.
Maybe our whole attachment to MONOGAMY
comes down to our own revulsion
of bodily fluids...

To chemical markers
pheromones marking TERRITORY, PROPERTY

There's something to be said for
COMMITMENT,

But if the ultimate threat to MARRIAGE
is loving anyone else...

If my commitment is
"love you first and forsake all other loves that should arise..."

If it is to deny my future SOUL
for the sake of the present one,

Then haven't we turned our love into a
STATIC ILLUSION?

Haven't we tried to freeze a moment in time,
when our love was perfect?

Daring the universe to laugh at us?

Have we really committed to each other
via monogamy or simply
erected a wall against CHANGE?

I know I can love others because
I LOVE YOU so deeply.

I know I would not want to
live on this EARTH
if there was no one else
in the world
with at least a fraction of
your BEAUTY.

And I don't think this world
would be so TERRIBLE
if you could find someone
out there just half as SWEET
as I am.