What they don’t tell you about the long haul

Beth Ruscio 

Then late one afternoon     exhausted from trying to find agreement     we just

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             take an impromptu nap     and for hours we rant in our sleep

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Childless     we argue     about the values 

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             toys taught us as kids     beside the point but    

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lack of the tangible has become accusation     poof  

                             the length of all our married years     minus

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                             what we have to show for it    

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for now     nothing is solid    

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                                                                      unmooring us 

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This chill     cured only by proximity    snuggling

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                                                                     slouching towards closeness     

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Awake      and all is stark again 

            hard on the eyes     dimming our prospects

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                                                                                                                       our senses

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In this low-ceilinged rented room     under the welcome mats and subfloor

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                                                                     countless secrets

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                                                                                                                               harden     in us