The Marriage Bed Poem by Ken Nye

They have kissed their parents goodbye,
moms wiping tears,
dads trying to hold it together.
Alone in the hotel room,
man and wife -
woman and husband,
they climb into bed.

In time, the physical relationship,
which begins as a new adventure,
diminishes in passion and urgency,
But it is in this bed,
when there is darkness outside
and only these two people matter,
that the closeness of their bodies
strengthens the union of their hearts,
and skin on skin acts like an
electric wire,
transmitting strength,
one to the other.

As time goes on,
the love expressed under those sheets and comforters
grows in complexity and intensity.
The two middle aged people
who curl up pressed against each other,
an arm of one draped over the other,
find in that bed a
haven from bills yet to be paid,
jobs that lack satisfaction,
parents who don’t want to give up their
homes and cars and independence.

And in the later years,
when the bodies of these two old friends
begin to break down
and there looms on the horizon
the inevitable end of their life together,
they sleep through the night,
hand in hand,
breathing in unison,
certain that the bond that was born
on the first night in their marriage bed
will endure beyond the time when one of them does not waken.