Adult Situations

By Ken Norris

It’s an adult movie
portraying adult situations.

You know how it is —
a young girl
living with her sister and brother–in–law
falls in love with a married man.

We all understand.

And the test of character
is coming to understand
why suffering exists in this world.

And going for the Seconal.

And then there’s Baxter,
blithely explaining
how he almost blew his brains out
because he was in love
with a married woman.

I was there once,
on the lip of the crease,
trying to get right
with the moral universe.

We all understand.

How the dream of love
can twist you up inside
until you can’t recognize yourself,

and desperation sets in,
and you take the wrong path,
until the moment you see
there’s something better,
and you go for it,
as any adult would do.