A Do It Yourself Manual For Marriage Poem by Sarah Mkhonza

On the road to matrimony,
Take this manual, this still
Written long ago, but hidden by
Time, for time wanted to
Dampen the fire, and never
Give lovers the tinders,
And the one live coal,
To keep blowing, with
The bellows of old, and
Survive where the world
Puts them, on the map of
Love.

Take the hammer and tell,
It you ate a hermit, a
Blacksmith, that shapes the
Bracelets and rings of lovers.
Knock the ring into place,
That has no break in its
Roundness, for with this
Magic hammer round and
Round, we knock two heads
And hearts into place.

Get the scissors as you
Roll down the scroll, and
Cut the two checks into
Two, for now their
Highnesses, will use the
State account.

Down the scroll it guarantees,
Servants called their hands,
That will do the chores in turn,
For the house has to be clean.

Now the wheelbarrow, for they
Must bend and push their love,
To the next destination,
One loading with the shovel
The other pushing.

And now the dishcloth, for
No dish washing machines,
Unpack themselves. Finally,
The handcuffs on their ankles,
For they are prisoners, who
Dared to like twins, who open
The cookie jar. Thus ends
The scroll of life, if you
Dare to follow the do it
Yourself manual, to make
Yours a marriage, that will
Stand the test of time.