On our Twentieth Anniversary
(more or less)
I do not cleave only unto him and so
some have thought this love a lightsome thing.
(It does not help that neither wears a ring.)
In truth, I sometimes wish that he would go --
-- inevitable, that single souls should grate
when year piles onto year until they blur.
I might forget the joyful souls we were,
and why I chose this one to be my mate.
If lightsome be, let that mean 'full of light'
lighter than air, and flying, is my heart.
And the thought that someday he and I must part
is pestilence, pollution, rot and blight.
Twenty years I chose him, day by yes;
sixty more I'd wish for, more or less.
*****
for Kevin,
with truly ridiculous accretions of love.
For the dictionary geeks, from the Collins English Dictionary, and interestingly, I didn’t actually know about the second definition until after writing the poem 🙂
: lightsome1
adj Archaic or poetic
1. lighthearted
2. airy or buoyant
3. not serious; frivolous
lightsome2
adj Archaic or poetic
1. producing or reflecting light
2. full of or flooded with light
This makes me wish I could write good love poetry. Beautiful.
I love this. Happy anniversary!
“Day by yes”?
Samiran, it’s poetry. It doesn’t always make sense. 🙂
But see cummings “anyone lived in a pretty how town” for my inspiration for that line: http://allpoetry.com/poem/8494113-anyone_lived_in_a_pretty_how_town-by-E._E._Cummings
I mostly like this effort, just that one bit doesn’t quite work for me. I think it works in the cummings poem because the rest of the language is right there with it, where it is just a little odd bit in yours that feels a bit flimsy/off. But a nice tribute nonetheless.
Actually, that line was my favorite from the poem. It made me think of choosing each day to be a “yes”, an affirmation.
Very nice, and congratulations.