Lapdog

Lapdog

she was pretty
and smart
so everybody wondered
why
she was with
him

she was pretty
and smart
but also a bitch
full of herself
and answers
to everything
she knew
little about
but was so easily
triggered
to defend

she was in love
with her own answers
to the things
she knew so little about
and wholly 
uninterested
in the ideas
of anyone
with less breadth
of scantily informed
opinions

she had a cleverness
for making
emaciated 
ideas and opinions
over a wide range
of subjects
appear 
healthy and robust
a slight of hand
she 
but few others
genuinely
confused
with 
genuine
intelligence

she was pretty
and smart
in her own way
but also a bitch
so she needed a lapdog
instead
of a man
to validate
what she believed
about herself

she'd tried
with regular men
who took her beautify
and intelligence
as an elegant 
wristwatch
as something nice
but something too
they could easily
live without

so she reserved
her assets
for the next best thing:
a man
thirsty enough
to drink from a boot
thirsty
and dumb enough
to think
drinking from the boot
of a patent leather stiletto
was that much different
than drinking
from a muddy 
work boot

she needed a man
with just enough assets
to believe
he was something
precious
and undiscovered

she needed a man
who didn't understand
her assets
of beauty and intelligence
were as meager
assets
as his own
wit and cleverness
so easily mistaken 
as intelligence
by himself
too

she found her man
and pretended 
to cherish
like no other woman
what little 
he possessed

she pretended
to revere
his meager assets
as no other woman
ever would

he was grateful
understanding
somewhat
his limited assets
so he bestowed her
with praise
and devotion
for her kindness
in giving him
her beauty
and intelligence

he took pride
is his devotion
to her emotional
acuity
in recognizing
what a good man
he really was
though his assets
were ostensibly
thin

she allowed him
to imagine
he was something
truly special
to be gifted
her beauty and intelligence
in exchange
for his precious
but meager
assets

that's how this pot
found its lid
in a bootlicker
and slave
so grateful
for the gift
of her beauty and brains
he never stopping to question
any difference
between drinking from boots
and drinking
from a water glass
since she'd convinced him
with her charm and wit
the most important difference
was between the style of boot
from which
he drank