(This is an example of List Poetry – an inventory of people, places, things or ideas, organised in a special way. It bagged a place in the top three slots for the monthly poetry-writing contest conducted by ArtoonsInn Poetry Parlour.)

 

An ounce of uncertainty, with tons of trepidation,

Unsure of each other’s choices, hoping for a chance revelation,

Guessing…gauging…assuming…anticipating,

Charming fairy-tale evenings, candle-lit dining and dating,

And thus elapsed the first exhilarating year of wedded bliss!

 

Tip-toeing on the sand, imbuing the wonders of Vitamin Sea,

Inhaling the musty alpine scent, sipping on steaming ginger tea,

Agonised groans of labour, the mewling and bawling of an infant,

Diaper gaffes, burping bloopers, parenting efforts persistent,

And thus elapsed the first momentous decade of wedded bliss!

 

The first day at kindergarten, tears and fears galore,

A prized job switch, better perks, newer domains to explore,

Science, sports, debate, drama – Junior’s stamp on all,

Luxe vacations, ritzy wheels, confident smiles, trophies standing tall,

And thus elapsed three distinguished decades of wedded bliss!

 

An empty nest, a slackened pace, a quest for a Zen life,

Writing, travelling, soul-searching – away from storm and strife,

Stargazing nights, hand-in-hand, stopping for a roadside corn-on-the-cob,

The pulsing rhythm of dual hearts that, for each other, eternally throb,

Not the heady, youthful amour but a composed, committed closeness,

A vintage brew of kindness and kintsugi, harvested to a mellow ripeness,

And thus, live on the annals of amaranthine romance and wedded bliss!

 

[Image: Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash]