I wrote this poem to my husband on one of our anniversaries (we are now at 20). I realized that being clear about the ebb and flow of a marriage can be a great gift. My husband continually asks me if I would marry him again…

If You Knew Then

What you know now…

That the joy of beginnings

Where everything is bright and full of life

Would gently turn into a routine

Punctuated by scores of daily tasks

And obligations

Joy is still present and mostly found

At special occasions or celebrations

Maybe even in voyages

As time passes joy eludes us even more

We enter a stage of complacency

We are happy that a word said too tersely

Doesn’t bother us anymore

Then this becomes joy

I ask you again

If you knew then

What you know now…