Marriage-Math Musings Poem by Bonnie Shipman

Marriage.
That’s all there is to say, really!
It sums up the middle of the night
tears
the morning dread of leaving bed
because that would mean
not cuddling into the hollow
of your warm back.

Multiplied
by the warm lunchtime hugs
and kisses and food—all those things
I take, before spilling my beans

You gather up my words
and let them simmer with honey
until afternoon gives us chances to taste them
and evening fills our spoon with new thoughts
we can’t help wanting to share

Marriage.
Divided by the frowns I apologize for
with new outfits
that only you will ever see;
and that expectation I have that you will be like me
(persuaded to change
when I see how wonderful you already are)

It shows the difference between
loneliness and companionship
talking to myself and reading you off
my deepest ideas
because I know you’ll listen
between privacy and intimacy… some things
just aren’t my own any more
but then, some things aren’t just YOURS.

Yeah, what is there to say, beyond this ocean
I’ve swallowed and the
sea flowing from my mouth?

Marriage.
What is there to say?
“A name is the fullness what a thing is, ” a wise man
told me

Well, the result of this function
is love, in case
you couldn’t decipher that with your calculator
And
My, my, my. What a thing it certainly is:
Marriage.