The chocolate syrup has run down the neck of the bottle,
dripping from the metal rack it sits upon and
forming sticky puddles on the shelf below.
Soy sauce has dried to the same shelf,
flaking off at the slightest touch. There is still
the faint hint of pickle juice even though
the broken bottle was discarded months ago.
What's your's and what's mine,
once so carefully and deliberately divided,
parceled out and kept isolated on their designated shelves,
are now spilled, leaking, dripping, coating the white
plastic interior of the refrigerator we've chosen to share.
And this is what has become of our two lives--
they have spilled onto each other,
mixing into sticky, flaky, stain causing
puddles. My chocolate syrup, your soy sauce,
running into each other, meeting somewhere
in the middle, pooling in little puddles of some new
exotic creation.
We tried to segregate ourselves the same way
we separate our groceries, keeping what's yours
away from what's mine, keeping what's mine
away from what's yours, using tools of
destruction to keep ourselves from spilling carelessly
onto each other. But when two lives
rub against each other, bodies folded together,
breath moving through breath, faults forgotten,
forgiveness tied around our tongues,
dreams tangled and spoken of as ours,
the boundaries begin to blur as pieces
of two independent entities touch, intersect,
blend into an interdependent entity
that stands on it's own apart from us.
When two lives rub against each other
the way mine rubs against yours,
we are left with what we didn't know
we were missing all along--hands bearing the stains
of each others tears, bodies dripping with
each others scent, the highly perishable yet
equally nutritious essence of relating.
We are left with one beautiful sticky mess I am content
to never clean up.
Fridge art, delicious, well done!
Posted by: Redness | February 14, 2008 at 05:29 PM
Deliciously wonderful...I love this idea of combining, of our messes becoming one. Beautiful, Michelle. Truly.
Posted by: Frankie | February 14, 2008 at 01:41 PM
Beautifully written. I will never look at my messy bottle of tomato sauce in the same way again! Suddenly it's become erotic!
Posted by: keith hillman | February 14, 2008 at 07:50 AM
I would have never dreamed that words about the contents of one's fridge could make me cry...but they have. This is...PERFECT. xoxo
Posted by: Marilyn | February 14, 2008 at 06:22 AM
Oh, so good. So very good. I agree with the commenter above, "You are a wordsmith." I love that word, and I love how you took the idea of fridge space and wrote about your relationship. Genius. I think my poem would have been about how on earth we ended up with so much jelly...where does it all come from?
Posted by: Sam | February 13, 2008 at 03:12 PM
what a beautiful mess! Love it... love you!
Posted by: susan | February 13, 2008 at 12:23 PM
O do you have a way with words!
you should make a book with your words, your poetry, your thoughts and bound it and share it! put it on etsy, spread your mind.
you have a way, you are an inksmith.
i adore your blog, your mind, your spirit, your heart.
go michele...
Posted by: michele | February 13, 2008 at 09:56 AM
Life is messy. I wouldn't have it any other way. Great post.
Posted by: Myrtle Beached Whale | February 13, 2008 at 07:21 AM
Beautiful, sticky messy. So good to be back here getting a delicious dose of your poetry and photography. Mmmmmm.
Posted by: Frida | February 13, 2008 at 01:19 AM
hee hee how wonderful, sticky and messy. LOL
Just terrific analogy and poetry.
XO
love you
Posted by: Thea | February 12, 2008 at 12:53 PM
beeeeeautiful.
i love the give and take,
the mix and match...
Posted by: gkgirl | February 12, 2008 at 12:46 PM
A friendly fridge! Nice work...
Posted by: Tumblewords | February 12, 2008 at 09:54 AM
how incredibly beautiful and delicious ... *heart this :)
Posted by: darlene | February 12, 2008 at 08:59 AM
Lovely.
Posted by: Jill | February 12, 2008 at 08:25 AM
you capture the messiness of love so perfectly! my hubby and i are tobasco and agave nectar :) beautiful creative words.
Posted by: pink sky | February 12, 2008 at 06:21 AM
ooooooh, yummy. so quirky and fun, and candid too. love it all.
Posted by: jenica | February 12, 2008 at 12:21 AM