The Natural Man

wants what she wants:
A dozen chocolate chip cookies
fresh from the oven.
A knot-dissolving neck massage
without anything expected in return.
Someone to make dinner every night
for the rest of her life.
Is that too much to ask?

She wants to lie on the couch
and not work but still get paid.
She’s not so much an enemy to God
as an ally to no one, except as mood
or advantage suits. And maybe
an enemy to anyone who wants something.
She’d rather be loved for who she is—
but also, in spite of who she is.

She wants that soft, disappointed voice
that ticks off the daily checklist
to just shut up for once
every day
for the rest of her life.

Is that too much to ask?

• Read more of my poetry at www.facebook.com/latterdaysaintpoetry

• Contact me at merrijane.rice@gmail.com