Still good at 50 years

Hal and I celebrate our 50^th anniversary this year. I never really thought I’d be old enough for this event, but here we are. We’ve decided to celebrate all year long, especially on the 23^rd of each month. The real date is August 23.

When we became engaged we decided that we’d celebrate each anniversary with a poem. I’d write one for him and he’d write one for me. I still think that’s a wonderful idea. Very romantic. But real life is not always romantic, and if you want to know the truth, Hal owes me 49 poems.

Here’s one I wrote for him, years ago.

EVERLASTING

Long a connoisseur of the commonplace,

I flick cathedrals like lint from my sleeve.

Scholarly tomes slip-slide through the cracks

in my mind, leaving no trace.

Monuments (cheap, plentiful, easy to construct)

I erase from memory without compunction.

But the way you look at me

burrows deep, sequoia thick.

Your slightest touch leaves an indelible mark.

The lights in your voice are forever.