Marriage by Nissim Ezekiel (Poem)

Marriage

by Nissim Ezekiel

(Poem)

 

Marriage

Lovers, when they marry, face

Eternity with touching grace.

Complacent at being fated

Never to be separated.

 

The bride is always pretty, the groom

A lucky man. The darkened room

Roars out the joy of flesh and blood.

The use of nakedness is good. 

I went through this, believing all,

Our love denied the Primal Fall.

Wordless, we walked among the trees,

And felt immortal as the breeze.

However many times we came

Apart, we came together, The same

Thing over and over again.

Then suddenly the mark of Cain 

Began to show on her and me.

Why should I ruin the mystery

By harping on the suffering rest,

Myself a frequent wedding guest?