14
August 21, 2013

A day that calls for rethinking attitudes,
for looking back it’s clear
life’s strains,
year upon year,
can cause cracks
and there is nothing to gain
by platitude plastering
over black gaps,
so would it be crass
to utter the phrase
‘Fourteen years of married bliss’
when we still carry the weight
of a lost child
and haven’t fully counted the cost
of the pain it piled upon us?
But, despite the struggles,
one thing I know and understand
is that the strength to stand
in the face of a storm
comes from feeling the warmth
of your hand.
And holding you close
never brought any regrets,
but pulled me through
the most darkest night.
To steal is wrong,
but when you stole my heart,
it felt so right
and your face reflects
within a ring of metal,
its silver lining so bright,
it blinds me from seeing
the clouds.
And I would rather walk
through a thousand storms
with you close by
than walk alone under the sun,
for a blue sky
is simply empty space
unless I lie in a field
with the view filled
by your face
sinking to end the day
with your sunset lips
eclipsing mine.
So, yes,
I can say it clear:
fourteen years of married bliss,
written in shed tears
and years of shared fears
and burnt in stone
by the quiet girl
who, with a single glance,
can unleash fire
in her eyes
and make my head spin
and feet dance in the silence.
And it’s in the quiet
of every night
that I hear you breathe
and watch your moonlit curves
fall and rise.
How blessed in the man
who can see a dream
with open eyes.