The Cotton Lint Opens
August 23–27, Zug, Switzerland
Seasonal Memoir Entry #22
It’s amazing how time allows a gradual settling in to a new place — finding the foods you like, getting into commuting routines, people explaining mysteries to you, and realizing how all the places around you connect. The place starts to feel like a well worn shirt. It most definitely can’t be rushed, either.
I’m making a concerted effort to get out of the dreaded triangle of work-home-grocery. This means getting lost a little on walks (and thus discovering new delights), playing tennis at the local club (where they could care less about the international school I work at), and getting on the train to explore new places. It can make a big difference on your mental health.
I put quite a bit of effort into writing more formal essays, which I publish on Medium (not sure why). I had been wanting to write a piece on infidelity, as it’s an issue that seems to get a lot of cover and debate in society, and one that looms over the minds of anybody in a serious relationship. There’s a lot of writing out there that falls into the categories of either “it’s perfectly okay to cheat” or “my partner cheated and I will rue the day”. I haven’t seen much writing that makes a case for fidelity, by taking a more positive approach. I decided to push myself and write in blank verse, or unrhyming iambic pentameter (rhyming is for the pros). And here it is:
Ode to Fidelity
a perspective
How will I love thee? Let me, too, be true.
Cheat. Act unfairly to gain advantage.
Feeling the pull of infidelity?
The homo sapien has no cheat gene.
Selfishness. Destroying all for a lark.
A slippery slope toward certain ruin.
Starts with a flirt, a long glance; it’s thrilling!
Fantasies race, what harm, if there’s no love?
How naive! Love or lust, you are ensnared;
Alibis fictioned, but it wears on you.
A matter of respect, representing
the sanctity of your implicit vows,
the compassion for your loved one’s feelings.
Looking at your reflection without shame,
saving your children the loss of their faith.
OK. Dance a little, play, then desist.
If compartmentalized, it will pursue
you. Work through hedonism’s vedanā;
see the imposter as it truly is.
Smote the fantasy into the abyss.
Looking at your partner without regret?
Priceless. A knowing smile for your true love.
Fidelity without any remorse.
Deep peace knowing your commitment is pure.
Revenant feelings from the day you met.
