It’s hard work making people fall in love,
even harder to get them to stay that way. No wonder
my friend Simone has built, for the goddess of love,
an idiosyncratic altar:
on it, one tube of lip gloss, a charm bracelet, car keys,
a rental agreement for a basement apartment,
a doorbell, a star for a Christmas tree, a salt or
pepper shaker, the mouthpiece
for a half-size trumpet, a pill splitter, and under
them all, a folded velvet satchel,
in which the lucky couple
who stay together into a shared old age
can keep whatever other sentiment-
al objects they decide to save.