Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Scenes From A Marriage: valentine

today my sweetheart was awash in pain
and i his long loved bride,
today he quietly loved me
and i he, in stride.

today nothing magical was said or done,
no deep longing made voice to one another.
we washed the hair of our babies fine,
each sister and each brother.

today no great lovesong poured alongside
our exhausted bodies as we made for bed
but a simple pause in movement -
his hands, my head.

today his eyes were dim forest groves
and his back a clearing wide.
and i was not the lustful girl
but the witness of a wife.

today we were not clever,
we did not dance or laugh or sing.
but flew each other parallel:
wing, to wing.

today i remember our hard learned treasure
that love is not always a loud, lusty song
but an ever steady abiding,
that rights life's crooked wrongs.

today he did not know i watched
as he stroked the baby's face
and i marveled at the endurance of love
and the sanctuary of grace.

today i wish for my valentine,
peace, and a healing heart
for his burden to be lightened
and his hand in mine in the dark.



image via The Smithsonian The Art Of Love

Hope Perlman said...

lovely!

--Hope

37paddington said...

I love this.

Lindsey said...

Maggie, this makes me cry. What a beautiful love letter to your husband and to life right now. xox

Kim said...

Maggie, your poem brought to mind these lines from a Sara Groves' song, Different Kinds of Happy:
"Better than our promises/
is the day we got to keep them."

It sounds as though your Valentine's Day was full of love, patience, and promises kept . . . .and that is beautiful.

Ruth Abel said...

Beautiful. Really, truly beautiful.

my3littlebirds said...

So lovely. Thank you.

Monique said...

This is my first time commenting, I'm new-ish to your blog. Just wanted to tell you that this was magnificent.

tiffany said...

beautiful

Caroline said...

It's beautiful, Maggie.

and maybe even sometimes the hard stuff is the most intimate part of our relationships...

this was gorgeous.

x

Elizabeth said...

That's awesome. You should submit it somewhere --

Christy said...

This poem is beautiful. Thank you.

Petit fleur said...

What a sweet valentine poem.

It is all true what you say here about love and abiding-ness and etc. Sometimes it just is that way.

Love to you both.
xo

January Dawn said...

Amazing.

Sondra said...

lovley!! Such a picture you paint.
Thank you.

Maggie May said...

One of the top couple of reasons I love having a blog and reading blogs is poetry. It's not a hot commodity :) so having a place to write it and receive feedback is really a gift. Thank you all.

Maggie May said...

new-ish Monique- 'magnificent' is a killer compliment. Thank you so much for that. xo

Lone Star Ma said...

Lovely.

lulumarie said...

Sweet hearts, the two of you.

Sweethearts.

Alicia D said...

so beautiful!

Nova Bradfield said...

Maggie, I confess sometimes my eyes can't help but skip over a poem. I read this one like a page turner.
I am shocked by your writing. When you write about sex and mental illness and marriage I feel you are being so brave.
“What would happen if one woman told the truth about her life?
The world would split open.”
― Muriel Rukeyser
It appears we are all just fine. The world is still whole. The writing you are doing on this blog is, in my opionin, the best.

Maggie May said...

Nova
No writer could ever hope for a finer compliment. Thank you so much lovely girl. It's a hard week for me, and you made me feel .... gratified.

xo

starrlife said...

I really love this- your voice is so authentic and soul stirring Maggie.

mosey (kim) said...

I don't read poetry as a rule - I know I'm missing out somehow. Your poems twist right through me and make me feel so deeply. Just a beautiful tribute to abiding with the one you love.

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