Marriage

 

 

If you are married

Don’t try to detach

And if you are not

Be sure of your match.

 

Don’t rush into marriage

For any reason at all,

An unfulfilled marriage

Is the worst kind of fall.

 

The only thing that’s worse

Than an unfulfilled single life

Is an unfulfilled marriage

That is loaded with strife.

 

Pretty faces wear off

And alluring voices too

And the muscles you see

May be a mistaken view.

 

Strength of character

Does not grow on limbs

And movie-like marriages

Are made for films.

 

In the real world however

Marriage is for real

And the spouse is not a car

That one puts up for sale.

 

 

Until death do us part

Was the solemn vow,

It should be kept in view

Even when there is a row.

 

 

For while it is beautiful

Marriage can be marred

By the things one says

That leave indelible scars.

 

The enticing charm goes

And the beauty turns ugly

None of these comes to the fore

In an ongoing hostility.

 

On occasions it’s easy

And sometimes it is rough

But the overall picture says

Marriage is for the tough.

 

If you lack backbone

Or your spine is jelly-like

Think hard before marrying

For marriage is a fight.

 

On this you may disagree

You may be at the start,

Wait a little while

When something falls apart.

 

The truth of the matter is

It should get better with time

If you put in the effort

And make up your mind.

 

Fight for your marriage

Not against one another,

If you are unequally yoked

Now that’s a different matter.

 

Be sure to consider

And examine each angle

For a bad marriage

Can leave your life in a tangle.

 

Divorce is horrid

Especially when a child is involved

And just parting ways

Does not all matters resolve.

 

 

Tongue and teeth will clash

As ours sometimes do

But both of these are important

If our food we must chew.

 

Our teeth will draw blood

When they bite our tongue

But even when false

We still keep some around.

 

For a marriage to work

Each spouse is required,

Should either one quit

That marriage has expired.

 

All the more reason

Why you ought to be sure

That you have God’s peace

Before you enter that door.

 

Stewart Russell © February 2018

 

Living Together

In the same house for years

These two had lived together

And with increasing regularity

One would hurt the other.

It was not so at the start

For one of them was not around

But as time went along

The other would later be found.

They did many things together

Like breakfast, lunch and dinner,

The benefits were equally shared

So each of them was a winner.

But the hurting would increase

As the home became more crowded

And often there would be screams

But none of them applauded.

The hurt one would complain

And would do so bitterly

But they continued to live together

In love and harmony.

They even sang together

Way into their ripe old age

And they shared in the applause together

Neither the other would upstage.

But the hurting would continue

When the other got in the way

And as they got a little older

It happened almost everyday.

How they wished they could go back

To how it was before

With just the occasional pain

But that was to be no more.

I will say this for them though

They never considered divorce,

They were meant to stay together

And this they had enforced.

At least until nature said differently

As in life it always will,

One eventually left the other

And for a bit the other remained still.

What an exceptional marriage!

What a great relationship!

Note how they stuck together

In spite of the many slips.

Tongue and teeth will have words

But neither gets rid of the other,

For as long as they both have life

They will always stay together.

So it is with an enduring marriage

And “enduring” is the word,

Tongue and teeth will have a noise

But divorce would be absurd.

  

For whatever they achieve

They must accomplish together

And a great marriage is simply this:

One cannot do without the other.

In tongue and teeth there is a lesson

That we all can take to heart:

What we can achieve together

There is no way we can achieve apart.

Stewart Russell © July 2018