Especially for Rita, and other associated poets: :-)
Rita's lovely poem,"For Better or for Worse" reminded me so much of this one I
wrote 4 years ago for Peter on our 50th anniversary, that I can't resist
sharing it--non-poetry buffs may delete NOW! :-)
HOW LONG IS A MARRIAGE?
As long as it takes
to sign your name to a piece of paper
or
as long as the thousands of mornings you wake
side by side
in bed.
As long as the breath
between wondering,
and deciding to say
"yes"---
or
as the years of moving from here to there
packing
unpacking,
losing things in the process
then acquiring more.
How long is a marriage?
As long as making up after the first fight
or
as the years of struggling
to understand each other---
probing in the quiet darkness
for the sources of laughter
and tears.
As long as the words, "I love you"
and
as the years of saying then again and again---
but never long enough
to end the litany:
"I love you."
CHF, for Peter, 6-24-93
Camilla Flintermann, CG for Peter, 78/7, Oxford,Ohio
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