the cardinal rules

when I was nineteen

and I kissed a boy

and it got out

that I was a maid

and he was a hero

I spent a sleepless year

choosing between love and respect

and when I became quite

the pillar of respectable

I thought, its different now

with all the contretemps

that determine my value

affixed in place

I gained enough weight

to cull out any remaining

variables

and then and then and then

times then

I realized it is

the cardinal rule of life

he will always be the hero

she will always be the temptress

and/or the maid

no matter where I go