Login
|
Join PoetrySoup
Home
Submit Poems
Login
Sign Up
Member Home
My Poems
My Quotes
My Profile & Settings
My Inboxes
My Outboxes
Soup Mail
Contest Results/Status
Contests
Poems
Poets
Famous Poems
Famous Poets
Dictionary
Types of Poems
Quotes
Short Stories
Articles
Forum
Blogs
Poem of the Day
New Poems
Resources
Syllable Counter
Anthology
Grammar Check
Greeting Card Maker
Classifieds
Member Area
Member Home
My Profile and Settings
My Poems
My Quotes
My Short Stories
My Articles
My Comments Inboxes
My Comments Outboxes
Soup Mail
Poetry Contests
Contest Results/Status
Followers
Poems of Poets I Follow
Friend Builder
Soup Social
Poetry Forum
New/Upcoming Features
The Wall
Soup Facebook Page
Who is Online
Link to Us
Member Poems
Poems - Top 100 New
Poems - Top 100 All-Time
Poems - Best
Poems - by Topic
Poems - New (All)
Poems - New (PM)
Poems - New by Poet
Poems - Random
Poems - Read
Poems - Unread
Member Poets
Poets - Best New
Poets - New
Poets - Top 100 Most Poems
Poets - Top 100 Most Poems Recent
Poets - Top 100 Community
Poets - Top 100 Contest
Famous Poems
Famous Poems - African American
Famous Poems - Best
Famous Poems - Classical
Famous Poems - English
Famous Poems - Haiku
Famous Poems - Love
Famous Poems - Short
Famous Poems - Top 100
Famous Poets
Famous Poets - Living
Famous Poets - Most Popular
Famous Poets - Top 100
Famous Poets - Best
Famous Poets - Women
Famous Poets - African American
Famous Poets - Beat
Famous Poets - Cinquain
Famous Poets - Classical
Famous Poets - English
Famous Poets - Haiku
Famous Poets - Hindi
Famous Poets - Jewish
Famous Poets - Love
Famous Poets - Metaphysical
Famous Poets - Modern
Famous Poets - Punjabi
Famous Poets - Romantic
Famous Poets - Spanish
Famous Poets - Suicidal
Famous Poets - Urdu
Famous Poets - War
Poetry Resources
Anagrams
Bible
Book Store
Character Counter
Cliché Finder
Poetry Clichés
Common Words
Copyright Information
Grammar
Grammar Checker
Homonym
Homophones
How to Write a Poem
Lyrics
Love Poem Generator
New Poetic Forms
Plagiarism Checker
Poetics
Poetry Art
Publishing
Random Word Generator
Spell Checker
Store
What is Good Poetry?
Word Counter
Email Poem
Your IP Address: 3.16.25.91
Your Email Address:
Required
Email Address Not Valid.
To Email Address:
Email Address Not Valid.
Required
Subject
Required
Personal Note:
Poem Title:
Poem
Two weeks before we share our vows, in my Miller Hospital x-ray scrubs, I sit, a lull in the activity of the morning exams with Helen, a fellow wheel chair jockey. Closely she examines me, “Do you want to have a happy marriage?” I nod in affirmation. “Do you know the secret?” “No,” slips quietly from my lips, “Do you want to know?” “Yes, of course.” Her eyes flash behind her glasses, accentuating her words, “The courting never ends. The courting never ends.” She reads the puzzlement that paints my face, with exclamation points behind each word she emphasizes, “You must never stop dating your wife.” Stories of Friday night steak dinners, with her deceased lover of many years, during a shared lifetime peppered with want and plenty. Her words repeated until locked In my subconscious, our brief, intense encounter interrupted by the needs of another hospital patient. I sit here with you on our date night, our baby in a high chair, our two very young sons at their places around the small rectangular table in our kitchen. Two Dairy Bar pizzas, a pepperoni for the boys, the supreme for you and me, Gerbers for the baby, a poor substitute for steak on a Friday night, but one meal you will not cook, just enjoy. Date night is not what it once was, but our love requires some small gesture, even in poverty, of just being with each other, two lovers with the evidence of their love around them, enjoying a piece of locally made pizza, with the words of an old German x-ray aide echoing from long before, “The courting never ends. The courting never ends.” (c) 2016, Robert Charles Wagner. All rights reserved.
CAPTCHA Preview
Type the characters you see in the picture
Required