After the Burnout Fireworks

 

 

In almost forty-one years of marriage

I have had lots of time to think,

About the fact that some marriages succeed

And others just go over the brink.

 

Today I came across the following

That suddenly made me alert:

“Love is what is left,” it stated,

After the burnout fireworks”.

 

I was brought to a screeching halt

As I contemplated this love definition

And I was driven to soberly admit

It is a truly realistic realization.

 

At first one perceives of emptiness

That usually follows a long-anticipated event

Into which much planning went

With animated but detail intent.

 

Like for example: a wedding ceremony

And the accompanying reception

Regaling the attributes of the newly-weds

Like a marriage made in heaven.

 

But not long after when reality sets in

And responsibility comes a-knocking

And the fireworks display has all burnt out

Love is that which keeps us a-going.

 

 

After a time of romp and ecstasy,

After the thrill and the enormous height,

Love is what is left, if anything at all,

That will take us through the night.

 

Not the ash after the fireworks display

But the love that defines the two,

The raison d'être, if you see what I mean,

That sees not the me but the you.

 

If fireworks are synonymous with love

Then ash will be the residual end,

But if what remains after the display is love,

Then a lifetime together we’ll spend.

 

Yes, love is what is left

After the burnt-out fireworks

And augers well for the two involved

When life delivers a punch that hurts.

 

Old age and sickness are life realities

And they come if one lives long enough,

They take the fire out of the fireworks

And makes the road ahead quite rough.

 

 

Fireworks a marriage do not sustain

Though many may boast of the same,

But the truth be told, whatever they claim,

Without love their effort will be in vain.

 

Today I came across the following:

I trust that you are still alert,

“Love is what is left

After the burnout fireworks”.

 

Stewart Russell © May 12, 2022