MARRIAGE

We all have experienced marriage:
- as a child
- as a person who hopes to be married
- as a person who was married
- as a person who is still married

So we all have experienced it in some way as an observer or as a partner.

Write a poem about marriage.

Can be pro marriage or anti marriage

Can be pro gay marriage or against

Any issue that pertains to marriage is acceptable


Any length, any type of poetry is welcome.

Two weeks....or if not enough...longer....

Each person can submit old or new poems.

Each person can submit 3 poems.

Sinaitic Covenant

"Haray at mekudeshet  lee beh-tabah'at zo keh-dat Moshe  veh-Yisrael"

You do not come to me as a husband,
or even late in the day as a friend.

We exchange hurt looks,
broken words,
and bitterness.

My heart hides from your empty hands
and the lake holds us captive
in it's far flung memory.

We pitch our tents and camp
in the desert,
on the lookout for rain.
It cannot wash us clean.

Mannakisses never come.

I wonder:
will I wander forty years
around your mountain?
Have you formed a golden calf,
and dance around the fire of another?

Our footsteps are lost, they
drowned and bled through the sand,
leaving us stranded.

I haven't seen the warmth of sunrise
in far too long,
it cannot penetrate this tomb,
this worthless flesh

that continues to breathe in spite of me.

The truth is there-
in our serpentine meanderings,
in our double-back stride,
in our worn out path and half-chewed tongues.

I hate you.
I love you.
I am a rabid dog that bites.

I gave a life that was broken;
it's not your fault it's unfixable.
There will never be enough glue.

There isn't enough of me,
in the cracks of you.

she sighs
doesn't bother to correct
the surly woman sitting at the desk
of her children's school.

"It's not 'Mrs. Cardew'
It's Miss Wiltshire"
dully repeating in her mind

the inevitable surprise - why
if you have three kids
in class years 2 4 and 6
why not just marry the guy?

but she wanted to - once.
these days it looks like
she'll get nothing because
it's not even a divorce.

(i tried)

Aish and Amala - thank you for supporting this competition by going first. Amal, trying is the first step to success.
Peace
Kitty

Remains

Your moving boxes are in the living room.
Our wedding photo is on the mantle.
That other big photo of us, too.
That funny teapot we made together at the craft place,
bearing our names and "tea for two".

I see our wedding album on that pile of stuff there,
and more framed photos of us.
A tiny Washington Monument thermometer from our "mini-moon".
Souvenirs from our real honeymoon in Hawaii.
All of these covered with dust (tiny flakes of our dead skin).

What's to become of these things?
Are you going to take them?
Do you think I’ll hold them, and keep them dear to me?
Will they be still be here when the new owners move in?
Shall we burn them in a funeral pyre?

As this house becomes more empty,
so does my heart,
my soul,
my hope,
my life...

When all the rooms and walls are bare,
our love's echoes
will be all that remains
to haunt this house
for eternity.

Sign at the [E]X

Still holding out (holding on...)
Not signing it.

Should I agree that there's no hope?
Agree that this is it, that it's all over?
Agree that you are done with me?

Separation Agreement

It's not an agreement - it's a confession.

It's a sworn affidavit of failure.

It's the opposite of "I do"

So, I don't.

A Not So Epic Poem About Marriage





Where to begin, to write about marriage
Like combining the Iliad, the Odyssey and still falling short

For there lies such an epic story full of love and tragedy
With no better odds than a coin toss, though infinitely more difficult

Of course we're destined for heartache and disillusionment at the start
Brainwashed by television, movies, and songs to expect the ideal

It all begins the same, the ceremony, the cake, the first dance, and THE DRESS
Then the honeymoon before the conspiracy spins its web

This unholy alliance of distractions, seductions, and all around white noise
That drowns out the vows, the promises, the hope

Throw in the wooing of careers, the needs of children, aging parents
The never ending honey do list and daily chores and there you have it

Desperate silence, resentful disappointment, and broken hearts
Of course there are let downs, betrayals, and hurtful words on both sides

Fear and frustration open the door for flirting that leads to unfaithfulness or longing
Then one day the bed seems too large, the gulf between us threatens to swallow us whole

At times it feels like I'm MacBeth midway across stream, as far to go forward as it is too go back
Frozen water making me numb from the chest down, shivering all over

Then there moments in the gloaming, where the magic returns
Something said or remembered, a look or a touch, rekindling warmth and genuine love

Reminding me why I fell in love with you, and again feeling like the man who stole your heart
It is then that I find peacefulness, contentment, and dare I say joy

As so recommitted and rededicated, I try again
To pursue and seduce you, courting you as I did right up to the moment before we said "I do"

This, this my dearest wife is marriage, pure and true
Though in so many ways different for each couple, the real essence of the most fragile and beautiful of all human relationships

Does it have to be pro-marriage? Can it be anti-marriage?

Indie said:Does it have to be pro-marriage? Can it be anti-marriage?

Yes - absolutely / MARRIAGE, THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY

It can also be pro gay marriage....

Wayne and Le Colonel - thank you for your submissions.

Broken Gold Circle

The wall echoes with emptiness
The clock slowly ticks
Agonising weariness
Eyes gummed together
with needed sleep
In the distance a door slams
A lone dog barks
Its all over
Again
You left
To go to her
Will you sign the divorce papers?
The wind blows through the open window
The papers scatter on the floor
Blue ink drying

Grace - thank you for your submission.

Engouement

White ribbons in my hair
Pink colors my cheeks
A breeze sends a wave of nauseated emotion through me
I do
I don't
I can
I can't
Too young to make it last
Things went too fast
Cause our engagement is gone and passed

Danii - thank you for your submission.

Soul "Mates"

I once thought
FATE
brought us together

the sea
the moon
the stars
aligned perfectly

our souls spoke
their own language
while our bodies intertwined

I now know
KARMA
brought us together

Mother nature's audience
aligned to laugh
at our broken lives

our unredeemed souls
suffering from
past mistakes

both
longing to be  
the cockroach

instead  
of each others
soul "mates"