2034. Joseph Phelps Membership

Wine club

Membership

Is

A sunny day

The St. Helena

Way

Gazing

On green

And yellow

Wild flowered

Vine covered

Hills

Tasting merlot

Cabernet

And petit

Verdot

Formulating

Your own

Bordeaux

A luxury

Experience

At no additional

Expense

Happily Married in San Francisco, Life in San Francisco

2033. Love Is

Love is

A saucer

A fresh roll

Of paper towels

The toilet seat

Down

A light bulb

Changed

The dishes

Arranged

Love comes

In a thousand

Ways

Happily Married in San Francisco

2026. Everlasting

Lasting loving

Is harder than

Love

For a moment

Or a day.

Hairbrush

Placement,

Dish washing,

And laundry

Get in the way.

Cabinet space

Allotments,

Slots where shoes

Rest,

How pots

And bags

Are put away

All play a part

In wars

And triumphs

Of the heart.

Love is

An everlasting

Negotiation

Where rules form

And morph.

His and hers

Only gradually

Turn

To ours.

Some cherished

Items,

Thoughts,

And traditions

Remain

Forever separate.

A few

Blend.

This is

A different

Happiness

From what's

Expected

But is

Recommended

For those

Who dream

And want

Something real.

Happily Married in San Francisco

2024. Your Efforts in Vain

Why did you jump
Into that picture

With me,

Smiling?

Are you dreaming,

Hoping

I'd leave

My husband

For a dalliance

With a man

Who cares nothing

For fidelity

Or marriage?

...Not a chance.

Happily Married in San Francisco

2023. Just Being Frank

It's true

I don't remember

Meeting you

Or our conversation

Years back

I'm flattered

You recall

My face

And that place

Sadly,

You made

Little impression

Perhaps,

It was

Your arrogance

That instantly

Erased

My memory

You brag

Of your money

And importance

In your sphere

Of influence

You say

How women

Struggle

For your attention

My advice:

Go

Dote

On Them.

2011. Anniversary Rhyme

Happy anniversary

Honey

Our names

For each other

Would rhyme

With one another

If I dared

To reveal

Our true selves

Online

Happily Married in San Francisco

2010. Working Together in Love

Working together

A life-long

Endeavor

Playing mostly

On cue

When no work's

To do

But what

Of those other

Times

70 percent

Of life

The working

Kind

We must

Improve

Happily Married in San Francisco

2009. Following the Rainbow Home

I follow

The rainbow

Home

To a promise

Fulfilled

Of kisses

And love

I know

Happily Married in San Francisco

2003. Keeping It Real

My husband

Is real

A man

I can touch

And feel

He is

Better than

Any other

Man

Imagined

Fantastic

About Women, Admiring Men, Happily Married in San Francisco

2001. Wonder

The movies

We watch

Are by Pixar

And Disney

Why?

Because

Some folks

Are old souls

But not us

We're a

Couple

Of five

Year olds

Still realizing

All

Of life's

Wonder

Happily Married in San Francisco

1999. The Right Match

I need

A man

Who's happy

For me to be

Like a playful

Five year old

When I want

To be

And in another

Instant

Running

A company

I found

Just the one

For me

Happily Married in San Francisco

1984. Ting

The strangest

Thing

About being

Married

In ballet class

Is the "ting"

Sound of a ring

As it hits

The barre

When you test

Your balance

While

Remembering

The fun

You had

The prior

Evening

Happily Married in San Francisco

1981. And All is Well

Once you've

Recovered

From that

Little spat

And he hasn't

Quite yet,

You can sit

And smile.

Just wait a while

Till he realizes

All is well.

Happily Married in San Francisco

1980. Er, Welcome Back, I Guess...

I've returned!

He declared.

I didn't know

You'd gone,

I responded.

He wondered

A while

What might

Be amiss.

In his absence

I'd met

And married

A prince.

Happily Married in San Francisco

1979. Small Pleasures

Happiness

On a guilded

Plate

Comes

In small

Frozen

Packages.

There's

Very little

A spoonful

Of ice cream

Can't improve.

Happily Married in San Francisco

1978. Tax Day Evening

It's Tax day eve,

Or rather,

Tax day evening -

Just hours

Before

The deadline,

Now that

It's been stretched

To mid-October.

Not like New Years

Or Christmas

And even less

Like Easter,

It's the sound

Of grim typing

Nearby,

Someone knowing

It may be best

To file

In mid-March

Next year.

Happily Married In San Francisco

1977. A Misguided Flicker of Gratification

If he says

Something

He probably

Doesn't mean,

Do I

Have the right

To respond

In kind?

Certainly.

Why,

I know

It does no

Good

But only

Feels somewhat

Gratifying

In the moment.

Happily Married in San Francisco

1976. Roughshod

Funny

Riding roughshod

Over feelings

Never feels

As good

The next day

We realize it

Hours too late

After

At least some

Damage

Is done

Happily Married in San Francisco

1973. Wowel

The cutest

Word in English

When mangled

By my husband

Who is Swedish

Is:

Wowel

(His way

Of saying

Vowel)

Happily Married in San Francisco

1970. Cheerful Evening Greeting

Doorbell rings

Honey shuffles

To the door

One earphone

Akimbo

As podcasts

Spin by

Double time

We kiss

Four or five

Times

And he reaches

For my hand

Wanting to feel

His and mine

Entwined

Happily Married in San Franciso