Poems

Andrew Gabriel: ‘Afternoon Delight’

Afternoon Delight

From the start a kind of secret guilty pleasure.
Not many know you’re even in my life.
We meet once a day around three o’clock
our dalliance lasting an hour or two.
I feel somewhat dopey but refreshed once we’re through.
My wife scans my face for signs that I’m needing you.
Often forcibly arranging a rendezvous
knowing all will be well afterwards.
There have been times when I went without you.
I’d go to bed overtired, jittery.
Sometimes the latest research confirms or
denies your usefulness—I don’t care.
Churchill said you divide the day in two.
Giving all who take you a second chance.

Andrew Gabriel

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