EUNUCH

EUNUCH

I read your death notice, sterile and bizarre,
And felt as though I had been toppled by a careless speeding car.

And I say this not to blame, I don’t even know their name.
But someone in their infinite wisdom reduced you to a phantom
Who never loved either woman or man
And seeing you reduced this way was somehow more than I could stand.

For I never knew such a devoted eunuch,
Who dreamed of romance and physical passion.
A joyful man who lived and loved with abandon.
Who was delighted to get roses or just a little attention
From a lover who I shall not mention.

I read your death notice and though it meant no harm,
I thought it a betrayal of you and of all your wit and charm.
And later at the funeral home, amidst the photos of your children and wife,
There was not one displayed of you and the man who shared your life.

Where was the 20 plus years you so lovingly spent
With a man I assume you thought heaven sent?
Was it all a smokescreen and just a charade,
A costume ball, a masquerade.
And surely most of the mourners knew, of this other life,
Of this love so true,
Yet pretended to be blind and not to see,
And to happily join the hypocrisy.
It’s a casualty of being gay, I guess it happens every day.

Yet I read your death notice, and in truth it made me ill
And gave me an ugly case of the chills.
That in this day and age of rainbow flags and pride,
Of cleaving to one’s lover and hearkening to his side,
That in the end you were a eunuch, and I know not who to blame,
That a 20 plus year love affair still dared not speak its name.

-Bruce Potts
Copyright 2009
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED