I will not speak of hot dishes
or unrequited love
nor the customization of Midwestern women’s lib
I won’t lie awake tonight
caressing an invisible partner and fantasizing
about the equity of our marriage bed.
I refuse to read chick lit and romance novels to myself in the dark
to whisper about the plot and deny the smut
with my prudish best friends.
I will not spy on church couples
and their groomed, bred and bowing young
because I refuse to count my eggs
much less name them
I may mention my infertility on first dates
mostly to scare away men with average dreams
of book club mothers holding hands with his children
while listening to a sexless priest emphasize
the holiness of making babies
and the ungodliness of lovemaking
that’s not in the name of Jesus.