Hesiod - The Theogony - Atlas
There is a kind of love called maintenance,
Which stores the WD40 and knows when to use it;
Which checks the insurance, and doesn't forget
The milkman; which remembers to plant bulbs;
Which answers letters; which knows the way
The money goes; which deals with dentists
And Road Fund Tax and meeting trains,
And postcards to the lonely; which upholds
The permanently ricketty elaborate
Structures of living; which is Atlas.
And maintenance is the sensible side of love,
Which knows what time and weather are doing
To my brickwork; insulates my faulty wiring;
Laughs at my dryrotten jokes; remembers
My need for gloss and sprouting; which keeps
My suspect edifice upright in air,
As Atlas did the sky.
U.A. Fanthorpe
1929-2009
friko - i really enjoyed reading this poem because it compelled me to reflect on the slow but sure rise in myself of the ability to maintain, and to take on more maintenance of the circumstances that are connected to myself, and to my family and then also to others i don't know very well at all! steven
ReplyDeleteLove and WD40 - unique, and mechanically sexy combination.
ReplyDeleteI once heard someone say: I'm the trusty, mundane-task guy. I wonder if anyone notices.
ReplyDeleteWell, yes, we do. ~Mary
This is the truest poem about a long, committed relationship that I have ever read.
ReplyDelete