15th Anniversary Poem

(For Gary, of course)

Here is a poem for a cheaper anniversary,
the kind of anniversary
you can get away with when

You’re living in a basement apartment
and not doing gift exchanges
as you weather the current financial storm
as you always have – together.

Here is a poem for a cheaper anniversary,
the kind of anniversary
you can get away with when

You’re well past the wooing stage
and well into the “whew”ing stage
looking back and past a decade and a half
of remembrances you help each other remember.

Here is a poem for a cheaper anniversary,
the kind of anniversary
you can get away with when

There is no more modesty,
your undressing and intimate exposure
being at times a matter of foreplay
and at other times a matter of course.

Here is a poem for a cheaper anniversary,
the kind of anniversary
you can get away with when

There is really no such thing,
your formative years together weaving
a comforting quilt of exquisite design
that can only be appraised as priceless.

Here is a poem and just a poem
so cheap it’s not even printed out
saving ink, paper, and trees.

Here is a poem that is nonetheless a poem
penned from the heart and written
for no one else in the world but you,
my one and only true love.

So did I get away with it?