It's All Part of the Promise...

The words fell away when we were young

they rolled off the tongue with the sweet invincibility

of youth, whose only truth was the dream of  

     “Happily ever after…”

The answers we need remain hidden and masked

in youth’s ignorance are left silent, unasked—

and when the storms come, as they always will,

when easy route stops and the path starts uphill

~ will either or both remain up for the task?

The words to "the promise” stay burning within

like a mantra, they echo again and again…

when worse comes a-calling, when poorer prevails,

when time takes our youth, and when illness assails—

we find that those smooth seas were just a illusion

for life‘s often messy and  seeks retribution.

When the unknowns give way to the hard lessons learned,

the depth of devotion will then be discerned.

So we listen as “promise” is given once more

and hope the new couple will  find what we’ve found:

that love isn’t measured in points that are scored,

nor in how hard you fall, but how well you rebound.

The road that lies waiting remains undefined

   we will never foresee all the changes in course;

 it's determined in part by a love that endures

  and confirmed in the warmth of the hand holding yours. 

© Ginny Brannan 2017

For Mike and Ashley, a gentle reminder to be kind to each other, to forgive each other, and to love each other with all that you are.