Water Fast (The Pearl Fishers)

    Shopping in their heads
    - a man a pair of shoes
    right colour (tan, off-white) shape -
    only good physiques need apply,
    degree, tall;
    self-confidence a "must".

    Not yuppie, really,
    more consumerism as in
    I made the grade (she really
    thinks this; meanwhile, she's
    plump, dull).

    Standing in the showroom window,
    she spies the mirror image of herself.
    Your attitude is your altitude.
    Of course, he's "polished"
    (tho' not worn), urbane
    witty - this goes without saying.
    Well-travelled, maybe, though potential
    liability, here, suggestive of footloose.
    Restless. Perhaps given over to bouts
    of hedonism - a dangerous portent.

    Feel I've stumbled back in time,
    holding court with Cesare Borgia,
    Lorenzo the Magnificent significantly
    transformed to a Renaissance courtier.
    Harpsichord and madrigal in hand (& head,),
    I recite my litany.

    I pack a mean wallop -
    humour, I mean,
    for no one on this spic 'n span
    planet wants somebody too droll.
    Intensity is a ripple from the sixties.
    "Relationship", kickback to the after-glow
    on-glow seventies.

    Eighties women love "feedback",
    "interfacing". Its fashionable to
    think chic. Restless troubadours
    should be dyed in their own ilk.
    Sporty chaps are in demand, ones
    with visceral longing for babies &
    the peroxide smell of Javex in
    diaper pails wafting thru their nostrils.
    Heady brew, Perrier & BMW types.

    Chrome-plated men with the
    razzle-dazzle of the Boardroom
    tugging at their cufflinks.
    Mutual funds equates with mutual interests.

    The man's wishes?
    A dollop of Dijon mustard on you!
    Hitting the nail on the head.
    Holding up her middle finger
    to dry nail polish, I see
    my future and, golly,
    does it ever shine.