Yeah Baby!

Oh yeah, I'm back...computer fixed! Now onto the most recent poem for a friends' vow renewal ceremony.

When (by Michelle Post, modified from When a Woman Loves a Man by David Lehman)

When a man loves a woman he watches her sleep, thinking;

As water to plants is she to him.

Stars and heavenly bodies fade in her glow.

When she says margarita she means martini.

Standing out IKEA she says U2 when she means ABBA.

And when she says, “I’m fine”,

She means, “I could feel like death warmed over and I still might not say anything.

He’s supposed to know that.

When a man loves a woman, he waits.

From the time they meet to finally courting,

To buying a ring and setting a date,

And every time in between and after when she needs one more minute to get ready

When a man loves a woman he is schooling in Indiana and she is schooling in Illinois,

Or he is in Ohio training and she is in Indiana, cleaning,

Or he is working in Germany and she is celebrating with family in the States,

Or he is moving the grass in Zionsville and she is wearing a sweater and sunglasses in Las Vegas,

Or he stuck in traffic on 465 while she stands melancholy at the big window overlooking a yard where amorous squirrels and confused groundhogs haunt.

When a man loves a woman he will jump off a speeding dogsled to make sure she’s not hurt—

Not thinking it’s no safer to jump off than to fall off.

When a man loves a woman it is one ten in the morning;

She is home asleep, he is watching code compile,

Drinking XS, eating twizzlers,

And hours later he drives home,

Staggers in to bed where she remains asleep and warm.

When a woman loves a man, they have gone to swim in a Russian resort pool

On a glorious July day with the sound of laughter overwhelming the water

Splashing against the walls as they are sucked into the swimmer-made whirlpool.

When he says work is all right he means stressful.

When he says he’ll figure out the universal remote he mans eventually.

And when he sighs but says, “Okay,” he means “I love you and would crawl to the ends of the earth if you needed.”

She’s supposed to know that.

When a woman loves a man she anticipates his arrival,

Even on times his armor is not gleaming and his steed is a St. Bernard

When a woman loves a man she will pack up their household in a day,

Drive 2000 miles and work at Boston Market while he interns,

And move another 2000 miles back when it’s all said and done.

In truth, she would move anywhere.

They fight too.

Cats and dogs?

North and south?

Fire and ice?

Let’s see:

Unmet expectations,

Conflicting goals,

Different taste in china patterns,

Miscommunications,

Different love languages:

Passion breeds passion in all communication.

When a man love a woman, and a woman loves a man,

It all works by the end of the day.

There is compromise,

Prayer,

Intentionality,

Listening,

And lots of apologies.

Love means saying “I’m sorry.”

One year they got a dog, kind of on purpose,

After driving two hundred and ten minutes and falling in love all over again

With the most perfectly precious puppy.

When a woman loves a man she learns to enjoy video games and indulge geekiness,

Even bad science fiction,

And encourages man-dates.

When a man loves a woman he learns to tolerate a level of mushy chick flicks,

Even childhood favorites,

And encourages girl’s nights for new tear-jerkers.

“If we’re all in bubbles, we die”, he says.

“I’m okay!” is her reply.

When a woman loves a man she trusts his directions, even when he may not know exactly where he is going.

When a man loves a woman he sticks by her side, even when she commits grand theft golf cart.

When a man loves a woman he thinks she’s beautiful always,

Explaining how he can reply without even looking at her.

When a woman loves a man she’s careful to use words that build him up,

Impart her trust and confidence in him.

When a man loves a woman he watches her sleep, thinking;

As midnight to the moon is sleep to his beloved.

A thousand star wink like fireflies as he drifts to dreaming…