Letter to Mr. Darwin

by Anita S. Pulier

Dear Sir:

I wish to complain.

Every morning

his sheets are uncreased

as if he slid between them

lay down and slept without moving

until morning crept up and nudged him

politely out of bed and into the bathroom.

On my side things are more complex,

sheets are wound into knots,

blankets in heaps,

as though an animal had

burrowed through a pasture looking for

that level of dark moist soil where

the outer world is blocked.

It seems a bit unfair, Mr. Darwin,

having bled through years of honorable cycles

only to lose the formula that led me

here, to this insatiable craving.

Now, despite endless new age potions

and nasty pharmaceuticals,

I sleep barely long enough

to foster memories of long purple nights,

sweaty passion, screaming babies.

I ask you, Sir,

Is this the survival you spoke of?

Am I off course or on?

Please note my complaint,

and weary gratitude.

* * * * *

"Letter to Mr. Darwin" is from Anita S. Pulier's chapbook Perfect Diet (Finishing Line Press)

After retiring from her law practice, Anita S. Pulier served as a U. S. representative for the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom at the United Nations.

Her chapbooks Perfect Diet, The Lovely Mundane and Sounds Of Morning as well as her book The Butchers Diamond were published by Finishing Line Press. Anita’s poems have appeared both online and in print in many journals and several anthologies. Recently she has been the featured poet on The Writers Almanac.