The Riddle

Artemio was helping Noah gather pairs
for the Ark, two of everything,
venturing far and wide,

into valleys, mountains, deserts,
paradises, lavish palaces, ghettos.
You get the picture, don’t you?

Anyway, Artemio brought back a gay couple,
man and man, a lesbian couple,
woman and woman.

But, Noah, said no, we don’t need them.
And, so, when the collection was finished,
and the rain started coming down,

everything on earth perished
except for what Noah
had crammed into the Ark.