I was sitting in Einstein Bagels one day when a middle-aged couple came in. She was using a walker, looked like she just had back surgery. Her husband followed her anxiously looking to catch her if she fell, and at a word from from her, he followed her to the ladies room, and held the door open. When they came out, I asked how long they had been married. It was only 12 years, but the husband said with joy, "I got the better deal." She disagreed, saying she was the lucky one. Marriage is like fine wine. It just gets better as it ages.
by Susan Fox
Came home,
lemonless, bereft and without ginger.
I wanted to pout.
The poet was five pounds heavier;
Mattress didn’t fit. Time zoned out.
Now the diet.
We went to the grocery store.
You wanted to give me flowers,
but they were withered, wilted, washed
out and totally achromatic
Their survival was problematic
Darling -- already so many blossoms!
it was aromatic
like tea twined with cardamom --
wholesome drink of the deity!
When I landed at the airport: Tulips.1
At home, cleanups galore.
Wild Daisies:2 dramatic wood floor burnished to a lustrous gold.
Immaculate laundry: the fresh scent of dignified white Magnolia.3
Lovely purple lilac:4 dishes clean, towels folded
Golden Chrysanthemum:5 bathrooms gleam
 |
| Golden Chrysanthemum |
A dusty pink Camellia:6 shower curtains no longer green.
Dark mystery of the African Violet:7
Weeds, once one hundred fold
now controlled.
Finally, on the rusty red pond of the Marriage Bed
floated one white lotus8
pristine
New Birth
we convene.
 |
| White Lotus |
1Red tulip: perfect love
2Daisy: loyal love
3White Magnolia: nobility and perseverance.
4Purple lilac: first emotions of love
5Golden Chrysanthemum: optimism and joy
6Camellia: the petals reflect the spirit of a lady, and the holder of the
petals (the calyx) represents the man entrusted by the lady as her protector
7African Violet: Romance
8White lotus: Purity,
Rebirth
