Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, WHEN FOLKS ARE MARRIED, by DOUGLAS MALLOCH


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

WHEN FOLKS ARE MARRIED, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: When folks are married we extend our warm congratulations
Last Line: "that is the time to come around and yell ""congratulations!"
Subject(s): Marriage; Weddings; Husbands; Wives


When folks are married we extend our warm congratulations --
We tell the couple married life's the happiest of stations.
We tell the bride the groom's a prince, the groom the bride's a beauty,
We talk a lot of constancy, and talk a lot of duty.
For Mary says that she'll obey, and John that he will cherish,
And Mary never will be mean, nor Johnny ever bearish.
We go in droves to see them hitched in golden bonds of marriage,
And throw our roses at the bride, our slippers at the carriage.
In fact we make a lot of fuss, no matter what the weather,
When Johns and Marys here and there are getting hitched together.

But that's no time to make a fuss -- the time is ten years later;
For then, if all is well with them, their love is vastly greater
Than when we stood around in groups, each Ben and Bob and Betty,
Or chased them down the boulevard with leather and confetti.
If ten long years she's cooked his meals and still he likes her cooking,
If ten long years she's looked at him and thinks he's noble looking,
If he has stood her women friends, and she survived his men ones,
And each the other's relatives, the near and now-and-then ones,
If he can like her sister's beau and she can like his mother,
There isn't any doubt at all they really love each other.

For time's the test of married life. You can't tell much about it
By just "I will" and just "I do," however loud they shout it.
They have to have their ups and downs, their worry and their trouble,
Have Father Time get out his scythe and puncture ev'ry bubble.
They have to have their little hurts, and have to rise above them --
When hubbies growl and women pout it often makes us love them.
They have to have their little spats, and have to find forgiving,
They have to have a lot of sense, and learn the art of living.
If ten long years their love survives life's little irritations,
That is the time to come around and yell "Congratulations!"





Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!


Other Poems of Interest...
Home: PoetryExplorer.net