Online Dating

The other night, my brother, who rarely grins
since his lovely wife, whom he adored,
divorced him after two kids and too many conflicts,
told me he applied and is connected
to an online site he visits after work.
He spends hours in this virtual space.

He found an online dating space
where he posts his profile and can grin
at the many offers from the network
of women he might learn to adore
if when they meet they feel connected
and aren’t repelled by the usual conflicts.

For him the most common conflict
is when a woman posts a picture on her space
but when they arrange a connection
the only feature he recognizes is her grin.
Why should he waste his time learning to adore
a woman who denies how age on her body works?

Some days he gets discouraged but there is a woman at work
he would like to know better, although it would create conflict
among the other, much younger men, who adore
her. He knows it could cause tension in his office space
so he engages in only casual conversation and grins
or nods every time their eyes connect.

Not to be dejected he goes home and gets connected
to his many dating and social networks
He has learned to blog and it makes him grin
when he tells his readers of the many conflicts
he has to overcome to find romance in cyber space.
All he really wants is to have someone he can adore.

He exercises and owns a business which many women adore
so he gets seven or more requests each week to connect.
He posted a large calendar in a prominent space
to keep names and times organized without too much work.
He thinks he has a perfect system to avoid any conflicts
“So I’ll have more time for dating,” he grins.

After four years of working to find love he must clear a space
in his home for the new wife he adores. Yes, he finally got connected
“All my dating conflicts have ended,” he shrugs his shoulders then grins.

Forbidden Fruit

Glancing over the wooden fence early one morning
Stan could see a luscious fruit hanging on a leafy branch
succulent and ripe, ready to be picked.
He knew he could take it with no one near,
he imagined the sticky juice, running down his fingers,
savoring thoughts of sweetness from a summer harvest.

"As long as farmers sow, boys will swipe their harvest,"
he argued with himself in the first light of morn.
Standing close he could touch it with his fingers
knowing the tender fruit hanging from that branch
was an easy target and conveniently near.
With no one around he could simply take his pick.

Then Stan recalled Eve and the fruit she picked,
Even after she was told, to avoid the devil’s harvest.
She forgot the warning when Satan was near
and was thrown out of Eden early next morning.
Stan paused before he took the produce off the branch
Counted the reasons why he shouldn’t on each finger.

He gazed to the sky and saw the sun’s fingers
stretched across the horizon picking
out shadows on the land branching
into rays of love over the bountiful harvest.
In the quiet revere of this enchanted morning
Stan had the sense that God was near.

Alas, it was the farmer’s son standing near,
holding a sling shot with his thumb and finger.
watching for a thief that morning
ready for the hooligan to reach up and pick
the fruit of the season’s harvest.
He waited for the boy to touch the branch.

Maybe it was the lesson from Eve that branched
into Stan’s conscience because he never drew nearer
to the product of the farmer’s harvest.
He pulled back his hand and pushed his fingers
deep into his pockets and refused to pick
the fruit from the farmer’s orchard that morning.

The farmer didn’t lose one item from his harvest so his son relaxed his finger.
Stan had resisted the temptation on the branch but he never knew how near
he was to being picked off by that watchful teenager that blessed morning.