Love Among the Unemployed
Generals are assistants of the nation. When their assistance is complete, the country is strong. When their assistance is defective, the country is weak.
~ Sun Tzu
Women haloed by summer dresses
Or walking in minimalist bikini tops -
This is as close to love as I'll get
While out of work. I feel like a peasant
Watching the parade of beauty's might.
I used to believe love could strike anywhere,
Could subsist on meagre promises and provisions,
But now I know it's a lot more mercenary –
Camping near waterholes of status, money or power.
These days I can't afford dates, can't afford
More than a coffee and a few hours
Of cheap talk. Government statistics
Should define a romantic line somewhere
Just above the line for poverty.
Anyone below it would be considered unable
To begin a relationship (for purely financial reasons).
The numbers would depress even statisticians.
Maybe I'd qualify for U.I. (Unloved Insurance)
And I could have hugs sent to me every two weeks
Although it would require fewer weeks
Of former loving to qualify for compensation,
And I'd get sick of that woman calling me
Now and again asking, "And have you been actively
Looking for love?" But it's not easy to find love
When everyone, including me, keeps pulling back,
Saving up for some big romance that might pull us
Out of this hidden depression.
