ONE YEAR AGO...

This first year of marriage has been the best
I've ever known, so deep and rich and full.
I've felt more passion than in all the rest:
More tenderness than silk, more warmth than wool.
Not that it's been easy. There've been times
When all the world has seemed to come apart:
Anger faces anger, and past crimes,
Real or imagined, lacerate the heart.
Love sometimes settles slowly, like a house
New-built that needs to snuggle in its bed.
When floorboards creak and groan, it's time to douse
The lights and make unbridled love instead!
Love, like air, cannot always be clear;
How sweet to breathe it with you this first year!