It is National Poetry Month and what a pleasure to hear one of my mother's poems on "A Celebration of Poetry" on NPR's Diane Rehm Show this morning.
Old Wives, by E.J. Mudd
What did we think
when we promised
to love and cherish
What did we think
when we promised
to love and cherish
those barely known men
til death did us part
and all that?
I think what we heard
was the first set of terms—
for richer
for better
in health.
Who bothered to look
through the mist of tulle
at the contrary side
of the verse
for poorer
in sickness
for worse?
Who ventured a question—
How poor? In what sense?
How sick? Where sick? For how long?
For worse? Were there limits to worse?
Well, never mind now
after all these years.
We’ve seen it from both sides now.
The point is
that all of us
promised we would
and some of us
actually did.
those barely known men
til death did us part
and all that?
I think what we heard
was the first set of terms—
for richer
for better
in health.
Who bothered to look
through the mist of tulle
at the contrary side
of the verse
for poorer
in sickness
for worse?
Who ventured a question—
How poor? In what sense?
How sick? Where sick? For how long?
For worse? Were there limits to worse?
Well, never mind now
after all these years.
We’ve seen it from both sides now.
The point is
that all of us
promised we would
and some of us
actually did.
What did we think