A good way to fall in love
is to turn off the headlights
and drive very fast down dark roads.
Another way to fall in love
is to say they are only mints
and swallow them with a strong drink.
Then it is autumn in the body.
Your hands are cold.
Then it is winter and we are still at war.
The gold-haired girl is singing into your ear
about how we live in a beautiful country.
Snow sifts from the clouds
into your drink. It doesn’t matter about the war.
A good way to fall in love
is to close up the garage and turn the engine on,
then down you’ll fall through lovely mists
as a body might fall early one morning
from a high window into love. Love,
the broken glass. Love, the scissors
and the water basin. A good way to fall
is with a rope to catch you.
A good way is with something to drink
to help you march forward.
The gold-haired girl says, Don’t worry
about the armies, says, We live in a time
full of love. You’re thinking about this too much.
Slow down. Nothing bad will happen.
– Kevin Prufer
Postscript:
The contrast between falling in love (in very dangerous ways) and the golden haired girl telling the narrator to ignore the war is pointed and powerful.
The fact that he seems suicidal makes you wonder if the girl’s voice is in his head, and listening to her would be as suicidal as the rest of it (and as attractive-sounding to someone wanting to end it all). Even if she’s real, she’s still unhelpful at best.
Some biographical information on Kevin Prufer.
Tagged: dark humor, Kevin Prufer, love poetry, suicide, unsettling, war