Ellen Bass — Bone of My Bone and Flesh of My Flesh

What pet names have you been called? What are the circumstances and stories behind these pet names? In this poem, a woman considers the pet names to give her female partner; “My beloved” isn’t very convenient when you’re dropping off dry cleaning. And what word to use when speaking of how she annoys you? Written in the time before same-sex marriage was legalized in the U.S., the humor of this poem highlights how policy can steal language from the everyday.