The Preponderant Weight of Love

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