My Sister, My Spouse

My sister, my spouse
Are you comfortable with these words?
To me, they still seem to jingle
Like the pair of a bad man’s spurs

My sister, my spouse
You’re burning at both ends
I said, “Is there a fire on the mountain?”
You replied, “Well, that all depends”

You know, our parents’ heroes
Are all movie actors
Necks tilted up to the angel of light
I can admit to the same allure

They say movies deal with archetypes
You know, I’ll try on any mask
Brother, son, husband
A separate face for separate tasks

Death-card, Scorpio, little devil
Villain is obviously most fun
Singer, poet, public man
Well, easier said than done

Do-nothing, roop-scoop, mooch
Hell, I can take it
Loyal friend and confidant
Honey, I could never fake it

“My sister, my spouse”
Rules of engagement!
We’ve been working so hard
We need a change, I can take a hint

Write down on these tears of newspaper
Words you would like to see disappear
Let ash fly above the rusty stovetop
I’m going to start with the word “sincere”

My sister, my spouse