February 14, 2023

the great cocooning

Certain nights, we nest in the televised turmoil of 20-somethings navigating the sticky
passages of romance in a sprawling South African villa. They take turns rubbing sunscreen
on each other’s backs, lolling on tufted lounge chairs, hoisting glasses of prosecco, then
retiring to their dressing rooms, where they change into filmy pajamas, 
and brush their tongues aggressively with toothpaste. We watch, idling in an oozy stupor 
as they lunge toward each other, some unions lasting an entire season and others a lone
afternoon. But on this show, real love is a distant, antiquated star whose wattage pales 
next to the glossy flirtations and wet-lipped sport of desire. It’s comic, really, to offer 
our attentions to this vapid, indecisive crew, but there we are, leaning back on our pillows,
hands searching for each other in the dark, holding on for dear life.