Life changes as life is wont to do
We stood over twenty years ago
We tied a knot with promises
Words like ‘good’ and ‘bad’
‘Sickness’ and ‘health’
‘Better’ or ‘worse’
Perhaps it was naivety
Maybe it was the glossy eyed
Captured by the shimmer
Enamored by love’s
Influence of the heart
Regardless, there were promises
In the time since that day
There have been
Good days and bad days
Some better days, some worse days
There were days of health
Today, we find ourselves
In the middle of sickness
You can’t go as you have
You can’t do as you did
You talk about the change
Using words akin to ‘burden’
Let’s look at this ‘burden’ thing
If you are a burden
You must have weight
If you have weight
There must be a comparable weight
On the other side of the scale
Looking at this balance
I see you are right, in a sense
The scales are not even
On the one side is the ‘burden’
It is the weight
You think you have become
This ‘weight’ is composite
On closer inspection, it is made of
A combination of the things you did
And can no longer do
And the new things required
To provide your care
No need to be dishonest
You wouldn’t believe me anyway
There is more effort than before
There is more required
More trips to specialists
More time down
Now, let’s look at the other side
There is one thing there
It is incomparable
It is irrefutable
It is unassailable
It is the preponderant weight of love
It was love that was behind the promises
Made in front of friends those years ago
That weight, that love
Sits on one side of this scale
It single-handedly outweighs
All the weight on the opposite side
The preponderant weight of love
Carries the day
Wipe away that worry
Set the burden down
What remains
Is love
© Ron Simpson Jr.
December 31, 2025
