Abbatoir

It is not —
It cannot be possible
Never, not ever
To be married
Truly married
In truth, in essence, in reality —
To another

Affection dies after marriage
Sex dies, conversation dies, eye contact dies
Real interest, sympathy, understanding dies
Even patience, even compassion dies
After marriage

Marriage is the abattoir
Where everything that might exist
Everything that once existed
Between two —
Goes to die

Two singles
Can never, ever
Ever be —
Not theoretically, not practically
Not physically, not mentally, not emotionally
Not spiritually, not essentially —
Be married
Made into one

Any word, concept, or ceremony
Any institution or idea that proposes this
Must be
Falsehood, unnatural
Deluded dogma
Deviant contradiction
An impossible narrative
And the most violent
Of all —

No religion ever concocted
No creed more practiced
No faith more spread
Than the religion of marriage

Where the married
Is the prophet
The gospel
And the god
Of making the impossible
Possible