Bread and butter,
come to supper.

It might be an evening stroll, hand in hand,
after supper, a quiet neighborhood street,

Venus, bearer of light, blinking on,
nothing to come between this couple–

no lamp post, no child on a bicycle,
nor grinning dog bounding up,

no stone to trip on, letting go
to brace for the tumble,

and she says, “Bread and Butter,” “Needles
and Pins,” superstition to ward off the Devil

and his demons hell bent on separation,
the vengeance of Lucifer–fallen Day Star,

Son of Dawn, Archangel of Light–cast out
of Heaven, so just to be safe, the couple

rekindle their palms, fingers entwined,
adding, “Love and Marriage,”

“Horse and Carriage,” sing-song chant
with, for good measure, that other song

they recall from simpler times–“Catch
a falling star and put it in your pocket,”

not Milton’s darkness visible, but heaven’s
starlight, words saved for an unexpected day.

*Sources:

A Way With Words, partial episode “Bread and Butter, Come to Supper”: https://www.waywordradio.org/bread-and-butter-come-to-supper/

John Milton, Paradise Lost, Book 1. lines 59-63:
“At once as far as Angels kenn he views
The dismal Situation waste and wilde, [60]
A Dungeon horrible, on all sides round
As one great Furnace flam’d, yet from those flames
No light, but rather darkness visible”

“‘Love and Marriage’ is a 1955 song with lyrics by Sammy Cahn and music by Jimmy Van Heusen. It is published by Barton Music Corporation (ASCAP)”:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_and_Marriage

“‘Catch a Falling Star’ is a song written by Paul Vance and Lee Pockriss. It is best known and was made famous by Perry Como’s hit version, recorded and released in late 1957″:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch_a_Falling_Star