Handful Of You Poem by Mark Nichols

(With Julie Lewis)

I want to celebrate
What isn't easy
What isn't delicate
What won't just roll off the tongue
What might be challenging
What might not want to stay for the second act
What might get in my way
What often takes me aback
What's unpredictable
What might just give me a heart attack
Some day
I want to celebrate a handful of you

You ain't exactly a small girl
Though you're under five foot three
Some would say you're a pistol or a knife
You'd simply never simply be
I look back on a day when it occurred to me
I accepted you in my life
My loving wife
Now, some people might say
This is insanity
That we're still together to this day
You and me
But I say

There's more than meets the eye

So I raise a glass
To the inconvenience
That has kept me on my toes
And wide awake
Heaven knows
There is nothing on this earth
I'd rather take
Even sloppy joes or chocolate cake
Than a handful of you

Now you believe in something
That's got more worth than gold
It's a spirit of invention
That'll last you till you're old
It's a crafty way of getting
Underneath my wrinkled skin
While I won't say it's a blessing
I will say it again
Because I…