Some years ago, more than I remember exactly
You sent me a first valentine with the image of Charles
Darwin
Cleverly captioned: “I select you, naturally!”
In a kind of conjugality of science and sentiment.
Our shared belief in evidence is important
But our compatibility is so much more complete
Like the way you laugh and are serious
Like the way you care for other people.
The years pass quickly being together
Happy with each other side by side
Spending our days doing what we like
Conversing in voices that express affection.
But all these years later it’s time to rethink that first image
Not because we doubt the premise of natural selection
And though no doubt you approved of my good health
But because my survival fitness alone was not the
determinant.
The indisputable fact of natural selection is only half the
story
Itself such a threat to the religionists still in denial
But Darwin’s subsequent work exploring mate selection
Notes the primacy of the female in making the pairing choice.
In humans the qualities a woman finds attractive
In appearance and language and forms of beauty
These are what matter most in the decision
When she is free from aggression and coercion.
If brute strength were the key to competition for mates
How then explain the wondrous diversity of beauty we create
Except in the way that it gently fosters consent
So I reply: “I choose
you as my heart’s desire, my love.”
You asked me if I was writing something for us
And I said, “Yes” of course
Knowing you will improve what you read
Making excellent edits.
