The Chemistry Lesson

Chemistry Lesson

The elements react                                               DNA destabilises
I take her to heart                                          the cri de coeur
she takes me to bed                                 At last!
one flesh                                                    a formula
awaiting                                                       an inevitable result

A known reality                                          that sprightly cancer
the first argument                                      those curious viruses
the puncture on the M25                                   the decomposition
the miscarriages                                      of the body
the misery                                            the beauty

Yet still we talk                                   of love
as cell by cell                                       sharing
moment by moment                            without rancour
without meaning                                          without purpose
life slowly unravels                              within us

1964