PLASTIC FANTASTIC LOVERS

Found after a storm upon the beach amid a pile of driftwood: a well-dressed Barbie doll and, unlikely as it sounds, beside her a small plastic statue of Michelangelo’s David.

She didn’t mind his nakedness

(she, too, was naked beneath her clothes)

or that he was sexually impaired—

for so was she as everyone knows.

She didn’t give a fig for art

but loved to hold his man-sized hand—

just any Barbie with her Dave

alone where waves caressed the sand.

She knew that he could not care less

about her trendy clothes, her fame,

her countless glamorous careers,

or that she was a household name.

They lingered with wood enough to burn

if a cozy blaze were their desire.

If left alone they’ll never leave

unless the wind and waves conspire.

But even if the wind should blow

and waves should wash them both away,

their plastic hearts will feel no loss

nor beat less fiercely than today.