When you’re playfully tiffing a Saatchi

remember: the tears that he sheds

aren’t signs that he’s hurt or unhappy

but of loving contentment instead.

 

The nose tweak which makes his eyes water

isn’t cowardly, vicious or sore

but a shorthand to show your affection

which he craves. So go on. Do it more.

 

And the necklace of bruises you leave round his throat

are something he’ll miss when they fade

but he’ll comfort himself, if it’s comfort he needs

with the memory of how they were made

 

because Charles knows that language is complex

that words can confuse and mislead 

if you want to be sure what your love has in mind

then you have to just measure their deed

 

so tiff Charlie-boy, tiff him senseless,

keep a smile on your face as he chokes

and if anyone asks what on earth’s going on

reassure them

 

it’s only a joke.

 

 

 

© Steve Pottinger. 18 June 2013