Zest For Love Poem by Mustafa Marconi

He said she looked like Halle Berry
I never saw the resemblance
At five foot two, one hundred sixty-five pounds
I often wondered how did he
I remember the first time I met her
Even then I could look into his eyes
And clearly see how much he loved her
Of course I was skeptical
And it damm sure wasn’t hate
I just thought he was sprung, whipped, henpecked
And any other synonym you could come up with
To describe his behavior
After all she wasn’t much of a looker
Damm sure wasn’t Halle Berry
At first it bothered me a little
To see him give so much of himself to this woman
Trusting her with all of his most intimate secrets
And to see him so at ease as he exposed
All of his flaws and weaknesses
At such an early stage in their relationship
I surmise my anxiety were based on many similar scenarios
Were this types of unmitigated honesty
Was so often utilize to slowly fluster and deflate
Unprepared and defenseless self esteems
Until there was nothing left
Except the deep scars left by the thundering impact
Of mean spirit-ness and betrayal
Actually to my surprise she never used his weaknesses
As ammunition to belittle or degrade him
In contrast she nurtured him
Would never allow him to wallow in self-pity or doubt
Worked alongside him to enhance his self-esteem
And always allowed him the space he needed to feel like a man
Oh yes they disagreed on many different levels
But she refused to argue
She always said that it’s the woman
Who sets the tone in her house
It is the woman who keeps the peace or maintains confusion
I always thought that she was wise beyond her years
They always talked about everything
And even if he had trouble articulating his thoughts
Or if he used the wrong analogies
Or said something that didn’t sound right
She always made it her mission to truly understand
The essence of what he was saying
To see the very best deep inside of him
To honor it and respect it
Subsequently it inspired him everyday
To be a better human being
To lead by example with dignity and strength
She was by no means a pushover
When she had to she definitely got her point across
She could calm his deepest emotions
And melt his coldest stares
With equal portions of tenderness, tact, and love
Preferring the subtle powers of persuasion
Over the disharmonious chords of bickering and hostility
He was very proud of the fact
That he had final say on every decision
The irony is of course that she always got her way
I guess it really is true that you can get more with honey
Then you could with vinegar
It didn’t matter that she was the primary breadwinner
Or that she was formally educated and he was a high school dropout
It didn’t matter that he was a simple man
With small dreams and a limited intellect
He was honest and sincere
A hard working man with integrity
And she made him feel
Like the most important person in the whole world
She made him feel like a king
All these years later
And I still don’t understand
How he thought she looked like Halle Berry
To be honest with you
The more I look at her
The clearer it is to me
With all due respect Halle
You were never this beautiful