The Microwaveable Heart

Untitled - Tetsuya Ishida, 1997

She's got a microwaveable heart,

If it goes cold, stick it in, 2 minutes, press start;

Pirouetting like a ballerina in a tin-foil dish,

Amongst the bean stains, grease stains, dried up fish.

She's got a microwaveable heart,

Selling it on discount in Tesco car-park;

Marinate it in Strongbow for about an hour,

Then chuck it in, 2 minutes, stick it on full-power.

She's got a microwaveable heart,

With instructions tattooed on her left arm.

"This too shall pass" the warning reads;

Permanent ink for ephemeral dreams.

There's a junk-food romance in a ready-meal culture,

Where convenience is king and celebrity is vulture;

Where love is empty and undernourished,

And the land-fill festers where the flower once flourished.

But, disposable love leads not to pain,

There's no fear in immediate mutual self-gain,

Love is hurtful and full of distress,

But not when you buy it Tesco Express.

So head these words as consumer advice,
You only live once and you seldom love twice;

Because the only love with which none can compete,

Is the type of love that you can re-heat.