All you can ever be

You live with her

but you’re not at home

a guest in a house

The source of her

disappointment’s unknown

nameless and unknowable

A previous marriage

that was no home

ended badly

The love you share

does not make a home

it takes more

than love to share

The house she keeps

tidy in array

her mind she makes so

Would you could keep

such a house

would find her somewhat kind

Someday you will

come to believe

that there you belong

But just then

will come remembrance

of other disappointments

And home

will seem a house

as she wakes from the dream

Another disappointment

she will put away

the source of her loneliness

she ignores

she abhors

a reminder

which is all

you can ever be

12/23/01