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.