On May 29th of this year, Ruthie and I celebrated 51 years of being together. And, God willing, this December 27th will mark our 46th wedding anniversary. During the past year, we have finally spent the amount of time together for which we have always dreamed from that first date on May 29, 1969. It is just too bad that it took injuries, retirement, and a pandemic to accomplish what we have desired from the onset of our relationship together. I composed the following poem, and the Rhapsody for Ruth that reflects the sentiments of the poem, revising and completing both last week.
SHELTERING IN LOVE
A Rhapsody for Ruth
When we were courting,
I was impatient for the time
When the culmination of
Our evening together would
Not end at the doorstep
Of your aunt and uncle’s house.
I longed with the lover
In “Wouldn’t It Be Nice”
That our evenings would
Stretch through the night,
Our night’s embrace ending
Only in the light of a new morn.
In the bliss of newly married life,
The foolish belief that my longing
Forever fulfilled, was revealed
as much a dream as when we dated.
Our children’s births, that great
Unknown during courting,
The time and expense children
requires, shredded my dream.
Our time away from each other
Out numbering our time together,
Long days at work for me, and
Long nights at work for you,
As we sought to provide
For our growing family.
It is paradoxical, that it took
Work ending injuries and
A pandemic, a plague,
In which the longing of my
Youth would be fulfilled.
The daily tasks that fill
Human lives for nourishment,
Environment and safe shelter,
Sitting in our chairs, working
Crosswords, and word games,
Cheering and cursing politicians,
Every moment together, is a
realized moment of tremendous grace.
After fifty-one years of longing
That our evening’s embrace
Would stretch through the night
Into the morning’s light
Finally, after all these years,
“Wouldn’t It Be Nice” is transformed
into “Oh, How It Is Nice!”
(c) 2020, Robert Charles Wagner. All rights reserved.
Here is the music I composed for Ruthie that I think reflects the sentiments of the poem.
