Inspired by Rene Magritte’s “The Lovers”

This is my wedding veil,
Stolen from the nice hotel we got engaged at.
My lipstick stain is on the back of my head,
tucked neatly out of sight.

Your polyester permanent Press napkin
is completely over your handsome face.
It doesn’t and won’t matter anymore
if we keep our eyes open when we kiss.

In time, it would occur anyway,
lips collide with eyes staring off into the distance
the thousands of days stare
at the corner of the room
where we are but ghosts in the mirror.

It was a beautiful day,
our wedding day, wasn’t it dear?
in suit and tie and my best dress,
We became anonymous,
Another Mx and Mx.

They stamp us out like cookies
We are machined this way,
Trauma bonded stronger than covalence
Until we have identical faces.

I swear it won’t ever matter if
you don’t close your eyes when we kiss
You’ll always know you connected
if the stains bleed through the napkin.
Blood or lipstick, both seep red on white.

The stains are machine washable
They go down the drain
Sluicing and swiftly
like logs down a flume
when we still had faces.

Some love endures the fact
We have no faces,
I know your voice, your scent, as well as mine.
We can find each other on the dark,
tied by red string,
finger to finger.

I tug and you tug in response
across interstellar interstitial spaces,
an unbreakable bond
knot in scarlet nanoparticle yarn.
Star crossed lovers wed
with serviettes upon their heads.

Each morning a new Big Bang,
We start afresh.