All Drowned Out

a woman is a woman
and a man is a man
but we both have hands to hold and to choke
and wring what will not love us back.

a woman is a woman
but she was once made from man
a little bone he could do without
carved with the precision of a voodoo doll
with a nose and eyes and breasts
to love and to do without.

a woman is a woman
and a man is a man
and they dream of houses and cigarettes,
of sex and blank-faced babies.

a man is a man
who dreads the morning crust
in the corners of her eyes
and the hollow breath caressing "good morning"
like she's never said it before.

a woman is a woman
and a man is a man
and a woman is a woman
who knows she is without hope
and a man is a man.