by Tony Schanuel
The First Wife
from A Series of Poems in Which I Imagine I’m A Sister Wife After Watching Too Much of TLC’s Sister Wives, Meant with No Disrespect to The Actual Sister Wives And Only The Same Disrespect to Their Fundamentalist Mormon Theology That I Would Give To All Religious Forms Of Patriarchy
Yes to another wife, but only
when we’re ready. Only when
our love has grown so solid, so
its own thing, that NASA
might make missions to it,
plant a flag on it, call it a
moon. Only when we’ve grown
so flexible that if my wedding
ring slipped into a rain gutter
in the middle of downtown,
either one of us could slide an
able, putty-like arm between
the grates. Only when we’re so
mature that you stop laughing
at jokes about bodily functions
and I stop nursing high school
insecurities. Only when
physically we’re so in sync it’s
like we’ve fused, like your hair
is turning my shade of brown
while mine picks up the hue of
your reddening beard, like I
couldn’t possibly miss you
because we carry each other
everywhere, on some level of
molecule or bone. Only when
the universe has gotten loud
enough at its “I love you”s
that I don’t need yours at
night. Then I will let you love
someone else, then, when I’m
loving the universe.
Megan McDermott is a poet and priest living in Massachusetts. She studied creative writing and religion at Susquehanna University and later explored religion and the arts as a student of Yale’s Institute of Sacred Music. (Her study of reality TV dates back even earlier!) Megan’s chapbook, Prayer Book for Contemporary Dating , will be out later this year from Ethel, and her poems have been published in a variety of journals, including Thimble Literary Magazine, EcoTheo Review, and Moist Poetry Journal. You can connect with Megan at meganmcdermottpoet.com or on Twitter @megmcdermott92.
Tony Schanuel is an award-winning photographer and visual artist who has fused a professional background in photography, digital technology, and painting and mark making to create fine art that transcends those mediums. His work has been featured in Digital Imaging Magazine, Computer Graphic Magazine, Wild Heart Journal, St. Louis Design Magazine, and is a featured artist in Cyber Palette and Extreme Graphics, two books showcasing digital artists and their work. He has exhibited at the Florence Biennale and his art is held in private and corporate collections including the Fine Arts Museum of Houston permanent photographic collection.