To the rough misunderstanding

To the rough misunderstanding
and those who believe it,
that romantic love
should hold out
constant for a lifetime:

A psychology textbook
estimates six to thirty months
until one must rely
on compassion or empathy.

Thus requiring a man of seventy
about thirty-seven
women worth of romance.
(With even a fourteen year
allowance for youth)

Not that the sum
is unreasonable in itself
but the finding and acquiring
of such numbers is impractical.

What a person really means
is to spend a few years
in mystery and passion
and the rest in bright reenactment.