In this poem Jaffe has created a theme of a man's stressful world, his means of counteracting it and, ultimately how his actions are really a method of escaping the burden of that thing called love. John is a man whose life has mutated from the "Perfect Job", the "Perfect Wife" and the "Perfect Kids" to one where his sole reason for existing is to feed the demanding money-pit known as his family. He is so disillusioned with his perfection-seeking wife, his perfection-bound children and life as he knows it that he seeks escape in a hooker that is an anathema to everything that is "correct" in his life. However, only Blue save John even if her disease kills him.
Jaffe uses two stanzas in this piece to separate the two subjects of this poem in space and standing. The separation makes obvious the absolute differences that a casual observer might notice: Blue is the epitome of dirty, used-up humanity. John, at least on the outside, is the proud businessman with a trophy wife and two well-educated children with great smiles. The reality is that John in his despair is at least as unhappy and defeated as Blue. .
The symbols in this piece are Blue and her road-map arms, John's suit and family as a whole, the mortgage, his cellulite-obsessed wife on meth and his children, the screaming lab monkey.
Blue symbolizes society's definition of rock bottom. Blue has been around. Blue is HIV positive. Blue will allow John to not use a rubber for an extra fifty dollars. The speaker paints Blue in such a way that the audience can form a vivid picture of her in their mind; Blue looks like spoiled milk smells. Blue is John's way of saying "I am not perfect. I do not need that perfect job, house or family". And if I get caught or die, so what".
John's suit as well as his wife and children symbolize society's perception of prosperity; John has an upstanding job that requires him to dress better than average people.
