Geneva follows a couple as they embark on a holiday as a last-ditch attempt to save their relationship. It’s an honest, and at times challenging, poem; its strength lies in its raw emotional honesty and clever use of language that echoes the wrong-footing and second-guessing that can happen when two people are at an emotional disconnect.
Author's introduction: The story of a relationship coming to its end. The two characters in the poem go on holiday as a last resort to save their relationship. Will it work out? I guess you'll have to read it and find out.
Geneva
by Benjamin Husbands
I can’t recall whose idea it was for foreign intervention but if our grievances can be solved anywhere, I guess it’s here. “We’d like to speak to the manager of domestic relations. We request a relationship reformation.” “Sir, this is the headquarters of the United Nations!” “Yes, we followed the splinter trail from the broken throne.” “Look, take a walk, take time to talk, say what’s on your mind… Here’s a map! See what you can find... “…We have a picturesque lake, with a fountain that makes, most couples fall back in love.” So, we stumble along through morning sing-songs, with strangers on streetcars that neither ding nor dong. Only clocks sound round here. Time is trademarked by Rolex, Omega, Cartier. My Casio bleats at midday, as if to say: It’s time to admit, that pacing around a Protestant town with a Catholic almost feels romantic. Arm in arm, we near Calvin’s feet where she feeds me melted cheese and lets me forget that I’m allergic. Then we climb the towers of Saint-Pierre in a dairy daze and not once does it cross my mind to push her off Until. In restaurants she orders right. I order what’s left. And I don’t like it. My French is bad. She.Knows.This. A minor event; a major catalyst. We drag our grudges back to the hotel to row about something inconsequential (travel adapters) and I want to plug myself in but sex abroad is never worth writing home about. And as you share a cigarette with yourself you realise that a weekend in Geneva won’t fix a thing.
Author Bio
Benjamin Husbands is a writer based in North Yorkshire who focuses his efforts on poetry and short fiction. When he is not doing that, he can be found listening to dreary music or walking his dog while listening to dreary music. Husbands seeks inspiration mainly from his upbringing in the Yorkshire countryside.
Cover image by Fred Moon via Unsplash
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