I’ve been wed to Wendy now ten thousand days;
A lifetime commitment through each passing phase.
Collegiate friendship, then infatuation,
Then tying the knot toward beautification.
A marriage is worth all the ups and the downs—
With doubling of joys and halving of frowns.
We’ve no legal offspring by blood or adoption;
Instead, God ordained an unlikely option.
Jugheads are fam’ly and cousin-like kin,
Connecting their lives through times thick and thin.
Though awkward at times as our age range assumes,
There’s trust in our culture as each club resumes.
A Jughead is with us for all-too-few years,
But mutual impact is more than appears.
No estimation can ever suffice
To see how a kind word can re-define “nice”.
No doubt that this year is pockmarked by trials
Both public and private, ov’rflowing our files.
But as the time passes, adjusting our dials,
The Jugheads and staff endure extra miles
To not let our face-cov’rings dampen our smiles!
To learn to see beauty oft-calls on one’s wiles
Lest hard times lead only to staring at tiles.
Instead, let’s turn golden this turn of lifestyles!
When this year is done, and New Year’s bells chime,
Hope springs eternal for beautified rhyme.
Not just pretending like some well-trained mime
But trusting in God, we’ll shake off this slime
And set some new goals and turn on a dime
And dare to believe that our prospects will climb!
To paraphrase Solomon’s words* so sublime:
God creates beauty through all things…in time.
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“Paul’s Poetic Platform” Series Note
This 10-part poetic series covers a wide variety of general and personal topics in an attempt to offer insights, blessings, and inspiration as I model trying new things in this era of widespread societal and personal changes. I may employ different styles, with the cohesion of acrostic, one-word rhyming titles from A through J.
This month, I touched on a special milestone for Wendy & me (hint: we’ve been married for 27.3785 years); how our marriage relates to the honorary family-feel of JUGHEADS; and our collective hope to find the good in our universally-shared heartaches which have indelibly marked the year 2020. —PRA
