Phantasies Of A Married Bride

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There’s a guy on
my floor.
Should I have a crush on him?

You’d say
I’m married.
La Haula wa la Quwwata.

But you must understand
a husband is serious business:
counting holes in the pockets
pressing starched white
shalwar kamiz and calculating days
since the last time you talked
and must make that call
again to maintain
a long-distance marriage.

A crush, on the other hand,
is frolicking fun.

You’d say
have fun with your husband
then
and crush (over) your marriage.

But you must know
a crush is the gasp
inhaled and smothered
and your heartbeat fastening
like percussion in a symphony
crescendo
so that you wear bright pink lip gloss
and trim your mustaches
that usually fly with the icy
Minnesotan wind.
A crush is singing
Dil kya kere jub kisi say
and smiling a “WOW!” and saying
Astagfirullah every time you see him
so that you maintain your
vow to remain chaste and pure.
A crush is feeling gooey
over someone you know
you will never have.

A husband, on the other hand,
is had, baked, gotten, and laid.