Christina's consolation

I liked the photo without permission,

but John Adair gets the credit.

I only add my words to others -

older spoken with my meager attribution.

Let me just say that Descartes was not mistaken,

but he simply did not go far enough:

She is, therefore I exist.

And perhaps dead Hamlet could have halted his soliloquy

by seeking her consolation instead.

I wander not Tolkein’s sidewalks,

I am not lost and no more wholly broken,

Emily long ago knew

what my heart wanted -

It has not been so hard to pray my longings.

And ask not Prufrock:

What is it?

Let us go and make our visit.

O, I am indeed misconstrued,

a sounding gong,

a clanging cymbal

to ignore

that fooling Apostle.

He and so many more cannot be blamed

for not getting everything wrong.

And nor have I.

So do not follow my riddled words,

but follow straightforward my eyes

and you will see love’s faces

smiling back at me.

The Beatles knew,

she answered quite clearly,

but I’ll give old Croce the last word:

Operator, you’ve been so much more than kind.

You can keep the dime.