The marriage is still
on its feet,
but rubber-legged.
Ringside, I crease
my scorecard.
My wife twirls
her pen.
When the marriage drops
its hands, a jab snaps
back its head.
The marriage ducks
behind its forearms.
A shot to the stomach
pops out its mouthpiece.
After the marriage lands one,
falling rocks batter it
to the ropes above me.
The marriage is staggered,
but refuses to go down,
thugs it out, blood
winding down its leg.
My wife reaches up a finger,
steals a taste,
and shares it with me.
(end)
David Henson
(Image is David and Annabelle)
Saragun Springs 
I didn’t know that accomplished prose fiction writer David Henson was a poet as well, but bravo, well done, David! He employed an apt metaphor for a life-long relationship. You said so much in only a few lines. I look forward to more fine work in the future.
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Hi, Bill, thanks for your kind comment!
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David
A great little metaphor. Let the fight go on without TKO or quitting to take up wrestling. Reminds me of the title of the Jim Morrison bio No One Here Gets Out Alive.
Leila
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Thanks, Leila. That’s a good Doors reference!
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The marriage of conflict is so bright and real in this poem. The images jump off the page. An impressive price of writing.
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Thank you! I’m especially glad you liked the imagery.
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David
This poem says it all about the institution of marriage, of which I am always reminded of the great quip, who wants to live in an institution?
And yet many of us do so, or have done so (in my case). The sense of freedom in breaking free of all that is such a relief it can be (literally) life-saving for many of us.
The mainstream culture which surrounds us continues to pump out millions of cheesy dramas which show that the only truly valuable thing in life is that it end in marriage (and that the married couple also live in a gigantic house or apartment and have a ton of money).
Poems like yours for today are truth-telling devices, antidotes to THE POISON, in other words.
Great humor and imagination in this piece which unveils reality in a dreamlike way; and a wonderful use of highly condensed, potent, easy-to-digest language.
Dale
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Thanks as always for your thoughtful comment, Dale.
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