Her question simply: What then, is a wife?
No dreamy, rearview fantasy allowed.
No one can say, day in, day out for life
Their needs are met by someone so endowed
So selflessly, they put another first,
Responding happily to best, and worst.
What then? An equal partner? Equal how?
Between unequal lives, on changing ground?
Until tectonic shocks transform the Now
To Then, until one life has run aground?
What equal is there then, what balanced scale,
When life becomes a butchered fairy tale?
Still, drawing up narrations for our lives,
Proposals for our futures, cherished dreams,
Inevitably, we write in the wives,
Assumed to be there; life without them seems
Less future-laden, dream-induced, less bright,
And just a little lonelier at night.
That lonely part: I haven't kept a list
Of parts of being married that I've missed.
But still, there are a handful that I do,
Like being smiled at, touched, or listened to.
Here is a link to Oryoki Bowl's open call, What's a wife, anyway?
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Alysa Salzberg
Melissa Miles McCarter
Scarlett Sumac
jlsathre
Matt Paust
Jowita Bydlowska
Salon.com
Comments
Of parts of being married that I've missed.
But still, there are a handful that I do,
Like being smiled at, touched or listened to."
A smile and hugs I send to you tonight and I'm listening through your written voice. I know its not the same but I do care.
When life becomes a butchered fairy tale?
Oh, my, you've said so much here. Gorgeous.
Kate, thanks. You are very thoughtful. My voice itself varies a lot, depending on stress level.
anna1, it was actually Oryoki Bowl who asked the question. It got under my craw, and I had to start working it out.
OryB, thanks for reading. I was surprised at how pessimistic this came out. Your open call just hit the right nerve.
Ken, thanks. Do me a favor and go pay some attention to the one who smiles at you.
Mark, yes well, one does get used to living at high altitudes, where the air is a lot thinner.
Hi tril. That couplet - I was really surprised by that one. I swear, sometimes it's like someone snuck in the room and wrote a line or two when I wasn't looking.
I am very grateful to everyone who comes by. Thank you, sincerely.
Your servant.
Of parts of being married that I've missed.
But still, there are a handful that I do,
Like being smiled at, touched or listened to."
The part I have always looked for and missed even in the marriage.