I WANT

you
to need
me
with such
force
the gods
will feel
hot
with
embarrassment.
They will fear
your greed
& single-
mind-
edness.
They will laugh
nervously
& wonder
how love
can be
this
cruel?
They will
write plays
on how
to love
like this
& still be
gods.

Norman Savage
Greenwich Village, 2015

DESPITE EVERYTHING

The Betty Poems

we've done
and said
to each other--
all the pain
we've inflicted,
all the mis
communication,
we would like
nothing better
than the "other"
show-up
unannounced
on our doorstep
and take us--
as crippled
inconsistent
and damaged
as we are
into our hearts
like our birth
givers should have
but never
did.
It is an act
that punishes
speech
and which we know
will never happen.
Which is why
we will
settle
for nothing
less.

Norman Savage
Greenwich Village, 2013