Desperately Seeking: #21 of the 365 Day Collage Poetry Challenge

Years ago, I advertised in ther personals. First time was with my best friend - we advertised together and double-dated - we figured it was safer that way. Two weeks in a row we went to the same teppanyaki restaurant with different guys. The teppanyaki chefs noticed and commented that we were with different fellas the second week.


The next time I got brave and advertised by myself. I think I went on about twenty dates, after eliminating all the strange ones and old, old guys. It was fun. It was tiring. But in the end, it seemed very superficial. I did meet some nice guys but the ones that I thought were really nice didn't reciprocate. I can't imagine how you could know you want to speed some time with someone after five minutes of speed dating.

Strangely enough, about a year after that expirement, I met my partner through an ad. This time, I was advertising for a flatmate. After a few dud applicants (there's some really strange people out there and I think some were just casing the joint over the phone), he rang, we spoke, he came and looked at the flat and moved in. Three months later we were in a relationship. Obviously I need the slow build-up.

So here's a poem about personal ads:

Copyright 2007 Diane Curran

Desperately Seeking Someone

Read Between the lines

decode your desires

to find a partner

nobody's perfect, but

don't stay home

get into the mood

start a conversation

speak to new people

try before

you buy

breaking the love rules

romance

worth waiting for