We shall spend our lives together.
I feel rather more certain of this at 58,
than I could have at 25 or 40.

We shall be together when one of us dies–
not a morbid thought, but comforting:
either I will hold you,
or you me,
and one will depart,
while the other remains,
all the richer
for the years together
(no matter how few or how many)
and the honor
of witnessing the other's transition
to something beyond imagining.

Until then,
we shall further explore
the inner workings of our lives–
apart and together–
shall continue to laugh and cry,
discuss, discover and discern,
cook dinners,
play Scrabble on the balcony,
run in the park,
watch snow fall,
wonder at Christmas lights,
travel to new places,
meet friends for dinner,
cuddle cats,
do chores,
drink martinis,
read to each other in bed…

We shall spend this gift of life together. 

Text and image © 2011 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.