Match Made
by Dan Carpenter
It’s all about
what you bring
to the relationship
He brought
poetry
She brought jazz
They set down plates and glasses
For serving them
On a gingham blanket
They shook and spread together
On the lush grass in the wooded
Little-trammeled corner of the park
Where they sat and sighed for a fair while
Faces lifted to the sun
Then bent to the task
The spooning and pouring
The murmured blessing
The silent parting of lips
To take and taste
One another's portion
Strange nourishment
Exotic brew
Sprung rhythms and 4/4 time
Lines and chords from God knows where
Levertov whisper on the tongue tip
Coltrane claw across the palate
Seizing heart and breath
Mating them to one forever afternoon
At last, knowing their fill
Bio: Dan Carpenter is a freelance writer and former Indianapolis
Star columnist, born and residing in Indianapolis. He has published poems in
Flying Island, Poetry East, Illuminations, Pearl, Xavier Review, Southern
Indiana Review and other journals. He has published two books of poems, The Art He’d Sell for Love (Cherry
Grove, 2015) and More Than I Could See
(Restoration Press, 2009). She brought jazz
They set down plates and glasses
For serving them
On a gingham blanket
They shook and spread together
On the lush grass in the wooded
Little-trammeled corner of the park
Where they sat and sighed for a fair while
Faces lifted to the sun
Then bent to the task
The spooning and pouring
The murmured blessing
The silent parting of lips
To take and taste
One another's portion
Strange nourishment
Exotic brew
Sprung rhythms and 4/4 time
Lines and chords from God knows where
Levertov whisper on the tongue tip
Coltrane claw across the palate
Seizing heart and breath
Mating them to one forever afternoon
At last, knowing their fill