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"Washing Before Sex"
To complete what we begin Without interruption is a common desire, But this cannot always be the case. Even when listening to the purest Aria, we understand the dog must be let out.
Smaller things do matter, Hygeine among them, a courtesy To our partners. A century ago, Once a week was considered sufficient, But even this basic act must be made more Difficult, like so many others, like romance Itself, how many promises and minor luxur items Has it taken to get to get here, to this one moment
When a quick shower is required? Washing before sex is a duty, Like moaning, call it homage to vanity, If nothing else, or for other reasons That can be imagined. The Romans knew This, the cult of tubs, the Baths of Caracalla For example, full of sex and steamy politics,
Or the adolescents eager for those summer trips To the lake, cavorting for hours in the shallows Where the water bears weight and moving The essentials is so much easier, Affection for prolonged bathing has been reported By partners attempting a sustained amniotic orgasm, Or fetal sex. The bodies of the dead are washed For proper burial, and hands are scrubbed After dove-gutting.
Washing afterward is a given, Like the Clean Plate Club, or coming in From gardening, at the end Of the late night shift, a standard practice, And once the afterglow cools, What is wet, chills, until all that is left Is damp, a reminder of the necessity Of obligation, remorse, the aquatic life.
—Michael Gessner
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