DESTINATION BLISS

 What now seems eons ago, we embarked bright-eyed and bushy-tailed

On the dizzying rollercoaster ride of marital life that was daringly advertised as “Destination Bliss.”

 

Wearing the thick blindfold of idealistic youth, we looked forward to its promised thrills

But naturally failed to correctly gauge the package deal of its elements of surprise,

Absent-mindedly skimming through the full-disclosure disclaimer written in chicken scratch

That read: “For the better, or the worse – Hang on for dear life.”

 

Our hair got quickly undone

By the tremendous force of the high-speed twists and unexpected turns,

That knocked the wind out of us

And severely quickened our pulse

Leaving us discombobulated and weak,

Suffering from shortness of breath and rebellious heart murmurs.

 

Interspersed with Bowties that gave us the Butterflies,

And hard-to-stomach Cobra Rolls

That made us reach for the Corkscrew

To pop open the vintage bottles of bubbly

Kept cool to celebrate a new addition to the family,

A graduation, an engagement or a returning holiday,

We started to get a fairer picture of what we had signed for.

 

At times, our open car cruised through charming landscapes

Before running away toward vertiginous climbs

Intended to take us to apexes of breathtaking views,

A well-deserved respite before spiraling down anew

Toward bottomless abysses of despair

That threatened to engulf us in their gloom and doom.

 

At each crest, we clapped and cheered in delight

At each rock bottom, we screamed in agony.

Yet, securely held in our companion seats

By the safety belts of our heartfelt wedding vows,

We kept keeping on, ready for an encore,

Yes, always ready for more!

 

There is certainly no need to renew our wedding vows.

We do it daily whenever the worse threatens to get the better of us.

Yet, faithful and steadfast we remain, rewarded by more clement weathers

After being ruthlessly tossed around by emotional flash floods

That leave us drenched in purifying tears but stronger than ever.

 

Anyas Spencer, Medford, Oregon, December 1, 2018

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