DANS LA CUISINE

DANS LA CUISINE

you lack the elfin
qualities of
a true
la belle dame sans

but have
merci in spades
and so
took pity on me

like a
true courtly lover
hot spotting it
from enchanted
wood to
secret bower

I stalled
at the door
to your kitchen

stopped in my tracks
a moment
to
take it
all in:

the spiced fruits and
chopped vegetables,
the lemon
       liquid cleaner

no hint
of ammonia

there to
best strip away
all the flash gilt and varnish
to let
   your domicile
make
    its case to me

kill that
deadly perfume which
has always
   run roughshod

delivering my
poor soul up
    for what
you wouldst do with mr