Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, JUST STARTING OUT, by DOUGLAS MALLOCH


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

JUST STARTING OUT, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: And so you're married - keepin' house!
Last Line: As two young folks just startin' out.
Subject(s): Marriage; Weddings; Husbands; Wives


And so you're married -- keepin' house!
Well, well, well, well -- and so it goes.
You wasn't bigger than a mouse
Just yesterday, it seems. It shows
The years are surely slippin' by.
And so you're married. Me, oh, my!

Well, young folks just a-startin' out
Have surely got a splendid chance
To know just what they're both about,
To plan and figger in advance;
And that's the secret, too, I guess,
Of most of married happiness.

Just startin' out, you say. Well, here
Is where they make or break, my friend.
How much you goin' to get this year?
How much can you afford to spend?
Know where you are, and how you stand,
And figger out just where you'll land.

Oh, love -- yes, love, that's needed, too.
I hope you're both in love so deep
It makes you dizzy, thrills you through --
And yet I've found, in love to keep,
There's nothin' like a little sense
Regardin' income and expense.

No ship starts out upon a trip
Without a course, without a plan,
That ain't the way to sail a ship,
Or sail a woman and a man.
Find out just what you can afford,
And stick to that, so help us, Lord!

And, if you do, I tell you what
I think will happen: Every year
You'll find a little more you've got
Of money, comfort, love and cheer --
You'll be as free of care and doubt
As two young folks just startin' out.





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