The Workaholic Shopaholic Sexaholic In Me Loses Her Beauty Sleep For One Night Poem by Gayathri Seetharam

The workaholic shopaholic sexaholic in me loses her beauty sleep for one night
-Gayathri B. Seetharam
My marriage anniversary was up for renewal on the 27th of last month
And for the 28th time, my husband and I renewed our marriage vows,
I imagined my 21 year old son saying, Are you up for grabs, Mom?
But I mentally said, In sickness and in health, do I take my beloved husband, till death do us apart
Well! The Hindu equivalent least ways;

As Toni Morrison has said, we have "canned, preserved and jellied" our marriage
"To store on our shelves and cupboards"
As we have treasured our springs and summers in Toronto
For Phoenician summers are notoriously hot
And the two summers I was there, I tanned furiously,
And withstood the blazing sun
But the winters are "sweet summer sweat";

The workaholic in me has a plan to make a wooden Temple of Parthenon
For with this classic architectural wonder of Greek Civilization,
I make a statement to the world that I embrace the western forces
For temples are a way of life to some Hindus
And I shall enthrone both the God of Intellect and
His counterparts, Apollo and the nine muses,
And they shall tell me the secrets to the "Chariots of Fire" within me;

The shopaholic in me will buy flowers to bring in the sunlight
For with snow, the white landscape has a look of my previous existence
Being wiped out with its make-up of seven iridescent colours
And the flowers are going to be full of yellow for golden-perfect sunshine
That shall envelop me in its warmth and colour;

The sexaholic in me holds myself on a "tight leash"
For unless I have some blissful solitude,
I find that occasionally, affectionate gestures from my son and husband
Tend to get the sexual stimuli in me charged
But it is also comforting to be loved and love in return.