poem of the day 09.29.09

sommelier

we sit in the
thai restaurant
although i do not like
thai food.
this is another
compromise of marriage
like not hoarding the sheets
or taking out the trash
and cat liter.
this beats sitting on the couch
drinking a whole
bottle of red
and trying to figure
out where to go to dinner.
it is true
that i have lost my taste
for the foreign
as i have lost my taste
for a number of things
indian, thai, middle eastern
good conversation
the opera, rock concerts,
or wherever else.
they no longer do it for me.
i’ve put them away
along with trying to
be intellectual
or at least smart.
i can no longer compete
so i’m dumbing myself
back down
don’t you see?
i have always been
a bar and grill man
a red-faced, polish lout
from pittsburgh
and i guess that’ll
never change
but have some of this
wine, baby
a nice pinot grigio
from scilily
that i ordered especially
for us.
after they were out
of the tempranillo
and the cotes du rhone.
savor it
like a christ’s blood.
it’s the last remnant of me
that i’m giving to you
before we go home
and i have a beer
on the bed
with two slices of pizza
and the all-night sports channel
barreling over
our precious chopin nocturnes
and john-paul sartre books.