“Au-pairing the Mandioca”

Outside
As the weather worsens,
gouts of water,
like ripe papaya
cling
to the rubber leaves of the umbrella tree,
swelling with fragile tumescence.

Inside La Curva de la Muerte
Papi has dined out on
mandioca,
chicken, French fries
and Kiki, his wife’s Swiss au
pair.

Her employer, Mrs Papi, also
Swiss,
remains at home
sensibly looking after the
baby and
au-pairing tomorrows mandioca
before flying back in the
evening
to visit her toblarone
parents in the Swiss Alps.

It must be said that at fifty
Papi carries his age well.
Tonight he will carry it into
Kiki’s bedroom
and place it carefully on the
bed
alongside Kiki who is sixteen
today.
When her few years are added
to his several
and divided by the sum of the
number of their bodies
each of them will have a mean
age of thirty three
which makes this adultery comprehensible.
Actually, adultery is always comprehensible.

Outside
As the weather worsens,
gouts of water,
like ripe papaya
cling
to the rubber leaves of the umbrella tree
and, swelling with fragile tumescence
drop into the gutter,
making their way hurriedly to
the sea.

© Mike Absalom 2011