Marriage Poems

I.

I met my wife

travelling in Kathmandu
and we travelled together
many months
reaching Canada
where we stopped travelling
but stayed in the travellers’ lifestyle.
Even after raising three kids
we are in travellers’ mode
bumbling around
in cafés and thrift shops
in the neighbourhood
going nowhere.


II.

My wife says,

you are
in front of your desk
all the time
from morning till night
day after day
year after year
it’s obviously an old habit.
I think
we should do something
more dynamic
than that
before it’s too late.


III.

Emphasize the positive,

neglect the negative.
Such a simple
way to survive
is incomprehensible to my wife
who insists
on facing life
head on
with all her emotions.
She complains,
“Life is hard for me.
People all around
are turning into robots.”

I’m jealous of her rich emotional life.


IV.

Loudly

she came careering up
the driveway
lurched the truck to a stop
leapt out in pink
pants and a purple shirt
black handbag in her right hand
left arm slicing the air
she blasted through the gate
and burst into the house
shouting, “I’m back!”


V.

In her dream

my wife said
I abandoned her
in the middle of a strange city
forcing her
out of our car.
She had
a hell of a time
trying to get home.
I should apologize
somehow.


VI.

On the way back

from a party,
I was suffering
excruciating stomach pains.
My wife,
drunk,
was telling me
how much
she loves me
how much
she feels bad
for me.
I thought
I was dying.

Then she said,
“Capricorn men always have stomach problems.
Do you know why?”
I replied,
“We don’t say what we want to say.”
“What do you want to say now?”
“Shut up!”
But she didn’t shut up
and kept talking
and giggling.
I still thought
I was dying.


VII.

I say “We,”

meaning my wife and I.
She also says,
“We,” meaning
her and me.
Sometimes
they are significantly different.
“We” could be happy
and unhappy
at the same time.
I shouldn’t worry about it too much.
Until she stops saying, “We.”


VIII.

A young woman asked me,

“What is the secret of a long marriage?”
I replied,
“If both fall out of love at the same time,
that will be the end of it.
But if one of you is still in love,
It might go on.”
She said,
“That sucks!”
So I added,
“But things always change.”
A week later
I saw her with her new dog.
She looked somewhat happier.