The question is a surprise.
It shouldn’t be. She just wants to know why.
Why has our love and marriage lasted so long?
A college student filming for a project.
Capturing stories of when cancer intrudes.
Susan’s cancer was expected to be fatal.
Instead Susan survives, even thrives.
The student listens to our opposing views.
How years later I anticipate cancers return.
Susan proclaims: “Never! Gone forever!”
We are bound together now for nearly 50 years.
Having heard our story. The student steps near to us.
Speaks softly so others will not hear.
An urgency in her eyes belies the calmness of her stare.
She pleads: “Do you have a secret you can share?”
Susan and I glance for an instant at one another.
Surprised. A question usually answered with humor.
“Yes dear!” I would say in jest. Susan then rolls her eyes.
Not today. This young woman needs to know.
Her earnest energy moves us to be clear.
Is she about to marry? Are her parents divorced?
Books and tomes are written on how to keep a marriage alive.
Do we really know why?
A promise. Yes! A promise, we explain.
Made under the Chuppah, in the presence of All.
We declare “I do”
We promise to love and honor each other forever.
A Sacred Promise, we explain, is one that cannot be broken.
Samuel A. Simon
© 2019 All rights reserved V5.O
RSS Feed
