Magazine Ads
Listened in on a first date or two
While hopping the happy hour hotspots,
Haunted by the half-true responses
To have-you-ever-done-this-or-that?
If they survived the subsequent waiting,
The did-I-just-feel-my-phone-vibrate anxiety
I wondered how long it would take
For the dissatisfaction to settle in.
Because lovers are like cars after all,
Depreciating in value
From the moment the ad in the magazine
Becomes something you actually have to care for.
Downed one more beer then darted for the bathroom
Where some poor fellow was picking his nose
Terrified an ounce of snot
Would make her announce “He’s not the one for me.”
Guess we remain the loyal servants
Of silent expectations,
Twisting ourselves round and round
So someone else keeps us around.
About the Author: Sam Hendrian is a Los Angeles-based filmmaker and poet striving to foster empathy through art. Every Sunday, he writes personalized poems for passersby outside of Chevalier’s Books, LA’s oldest independent bookstore. You can find his poetry and film links on Instagram at @samhendrian143.
Image Credit: Marianne von Werefkin “interior with a seated couple” (1907) Public domain image courtesy of Artvee
As It Ought To Be 