Poetry Wednesday, Vol. 78

Windchime

by Tony Hoagland

She goes out to hang the windchime

in her nightie and her work boots.

It’s six-thirty in the morning

and she’s standing on the plastic ice chest

tiptoe to reach the crossbeam of the porch,

windchime in her left hand,

hammer in her right, the nail

gripped tight between her teeth

but nothing happens next because

she’s trying to figure out

how to switch #1 with #3.

She must have been standing in the kitchen,

coffee in her hand, asleep,

when she heard it—the wind blowing

through the sound the windchime

wasn’t making

because it wasn’t there.

No one, including me, especially anymore believes

till death do us part,

but I can see what I would miss in leaving—

the way her ankles go into the work boots

as she stands upon the ice chest;

the problem scrunched into her forehead;

the little kissable mouth

with the nail in it.

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There are so many reasons we love each other, and often we fall in love because of the crazy and strange things our beloveds do. The gap in his smile, his love of history, he only wears clothes that previously belonged to old dead men, he brings me flowers picked from the median, he plays monster until at least one if not all of the children have wet their pants.... not talking about my husband at all. This is all conjecture as to why you might fall in love with a man.

I don't agree with the poet that "nobody believes till death do us part", because I have experienced, from the outside looking in, many loves that have lasted until death do us part.
My marriage is bolstered by the marriages around me that are expected to last until the end. Because of, and in spite of, all the annoying little quirks each spouse brings to the relationship. So be glad your spouse loves you for your quirks and love them back. Even for the things that make you roll your eyes and sigh in frustration. Especially for those things.

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On a another note - today we said goodbye to Mike's Great Aunt Jackie. She was a funny, colorful and sweet lady. At our wedding shower, Aunt Jackie gave Mike - not me, Mike - a cookbook. A cookbook with the inscription alluding to how it is a good book, and now he can practice cooking for his wife! A sense of humor, she had one.

The last time we saw Aunt Jackie was at a family get together, where immediately upon reacquainting herself with Mikey, she pulled him onto her lap and there he remained for the rest of the evening. They giggled and ate and he managed to get some guffaws out of her.

Jackie lived with her daughter and son-in-law until the end. They took care of her, and while they miss her, are glad to know she has gained her laughter back now. We all loved her for her wit and for her quirks. Especially her quirks.