Promises to self are hard to keep
So you pretend, walls built high
Door locked and key lost
Or so you thought
Trouble is, there’s always a prince
Waiting to rescue the princess
From the tower of her own making
He climbs the walls and waltzes in
Because it takes a kingdom
To protect a castle
When the queen is broken and alone
With hope squeezing her chest
Leaving only room for his words
Voice as smooth as honey butter
Promises as useless as a silk condom
Yet they sound like magic
And you buy what he’s selling
Ignoring the infomercial’s admonition
But wait, there’s more
During our trip to Alaska, I found the most fascinating things to look at and learn about. This photo was probably in my top 5 things I saw. Evidently, someone thought it a good idea to make silk condoms and gave them to a well-known madame. She, on the other hand, was smart enough to know they were worthless. She decided to sew them together into rosettes and hang them along the shower curtain in her bathroom as decoration. No two rosettes were exactly alike, but the display was both fascinating and hilarous! I don’t know about anyone else, but I have made plenty of poor relationship decisions in my life, holding onto promises that could’t hold water…much like silk condoms.
If you like this poem, check out my debut poetry collection When Can We Be Soft?: Poems of Female Resilience.