Woebegone Lover and Wayman in Love

Woebegone Lover and Wayman in Love

Although in an ideal world it would fit that our lover was a soulmate, most rational people would agree that this is not always the case. Tom Wayman's "Wayman in Love" details an encounter between a man and a woman that, although devoid of true love, the man feels has been a long time coming. Conversely, Carol Jane Bangs' "Touching Each Others Surface's" is the remembrance of a love that is no longer alive. Both of these poems explore the topic of physical encounters that possess no feeling. However, they do so from opposite ends of the spectrum. While "Wayman in Love" is the story of a one-night stand (and therefore devoid of real emotion), "Touching Each Other's Surfaces" is a tale of love long past.

Tom Wayman's "Wayman in Love" is a satirical look at the consequences of passion and sex through the eyes of one of the participants. Jut as the main character has finally succeeded in persuading a young lady to join him in passionate embrace, he feels the tug of conscience in the form of a nineteenth-century thinker who joins the couple under the covers. "I'm here to consider for you the cost of a kiss" (11), says the intruder, a gentleman by the name of "Doktor Marx". Since Wayman had previously been "locked in one of those embraces so passionate that his left arm was asleep"(2-3), it is clear that the young man is now having second thoughts about his one-night stand.

After the initial shock wears off, the main character is able to regain enough composure to break into Doktor Marx's outline of "costs" of the encounter. These costs are not limited to fiscal matters, but also include the eventuality of longterm commitment and the hinted possibility of sexually transmitted diseases (a...

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...and "Touching Each Other's Surfaces" both deal with a romantic encounter that is not based on love. Tom Wayman's poem is a story recounting the inner turmoil faced by a young man who has finally captured his sexual quarry. While Wayman does face the humiliation of losing his focus (among other things), his situation pales in comparison to that of the speaker in the poem by Carol Jane Bangs. "Touching Each Other's Surfaces" chronicles an act of passion, with no love to be shared anymore. Both of these poems show a wish that the moment would not end, and both speakers know that it will never happen again. However, for Mr. Wayman, the consequences are only a night of failed pleasure and embarrassment. For the speaker in "Touching Each Other's Surfaces," the love is gone and all that is left are the night and memories.