It was twenty-two years ago today

that we began to make our way

through this world together.

The odds, some would say,

so stacked against us

that there was no way

we would last

more than a year or two together:

too newly divorced,

too many kids,

too many things already shaped

in favor of dissolution.

Of course,

they were right

about all their reasons

but did not understand

how deeply

how stubbornly

how exuberantly

we loved one another.

Who else

could have foreseen

such an ocean of forgiveness,

a mountain of determination,

a river of respect,

a gentle and peaceful wind

of renewing fondness for one another,

and a faith shared from the core of our being

that would grow up

between us,

around us,

within us

except for him

who formed this union?

H. Arnett

9/1/11