The Marriage Bond
You're kneeling there with paint-flecked hair
like worship at a baseboard altar
with the brush dripping white
and a sweat ring for a halo.
And it's no matter if the roller spatters
my arms with junk from the ceiling
and my shoulders ache
while my hands cramp
and we've been at this an hour too long.
For Someone Else shares the room with us,
this apartment, this unlikely temple,
while angels and friends keep the children at home
and we're breathless and trying to finish.
There's a sacred merging, our prayers urging
the Lord of our perspiration,
and a sensual encounter, not sexy,
but not sexless -
your curves can't be hid by exhaustion.
And the Spirit preaches to our togetherness,
"A marriage is made by moments like this,"
and I have to chuckle - it's true,
what a crazy way to make love.
Garry D. Nation, 2025
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