Seduction

Seduction

there's no true
pure love
yet
there may be 
no better
love affair
than
with art

art's love
beautiful and wonderous
like child's play
but not an easy seduction
not as simple 
as picking up a brush
a camera
or a pen
and going to work

art's love
difficult
demanding fidelity
requiring
the naïve
hopelessly
romantic
temperament
of the artist
for her
to seduce
and for her lover
to remain
loyal and loving
in the seduction

and she will seduce
enrapturing you
with hours
of copulating
delight
writing
painting
creating
all warm and comforting
like caressing and kissing
and stroking
during pillow talk
even on the gloomiest
of days

all these 
the reward
for fidelity 
to her
her tenderness
her affection
her heart and trust and love
her comforts
your reward
for your respect and devotion
to her
for not using
not abusing her
for your vanity
praise and attention
or the wiling
of some other
lover

art will return
love
so long
as you're devoted
and respectful
to her
and 
if not
like any other
jilted lover
she will discard you
to be loved
only in memory
to never to be seduced
under the same 
naïve 
whimsical and carefree
spell
again

if you betray
she will abandon
as she should
leaving nothing
but photographs
and loneliness
as reminders
of what once was

you may attempt
to rekindle
the romance
but after betrayal
you'll be left with nothing
but paintings
words
objects
glimpses of the affair
with the kisses
and caresses
of those canvases
papers
or clay
both old and new
bitter reminders
of the rosy
warm lips
that were once
in their place

so don't use
and abuse her
as a bargaining chip
for other affairs
for pursuits of 
your own attention
love her
not yourself
for what she is
which may be
as pure as
love gets

for art
is this wonderous
beautiful thing
like the love
we've always wanted
but will
always
be denied
in a world
necessarily lacking
perfection

so don't
insist
on perfection in art
that way
it can remain
beautiful and safe
for the one creating
so long as
it remains
about itself
about her
not you
who is nothing
compared to her
anyway

create
for her 
if you can
let your art
be your daily love letter
to her
for her
composing it
without the vanity
which necessarily taints
the whole
goddamned
affair