New Beginnings:
getting married to my
knight in shining armor
Janet Kuypers
10/26/16
(starting with adaptations
from prose “King of the Universe”
Once I got on my own,
I was queen of the Universe.
I had a good job, and
I had meaning and order
and direction in my life.
I used my brain,
and I was invincible.
I produced RESULTS.
I needed no one.
I thought I had it all
in the palm of my hand.
#
And once when I was driving
to visit my parents,
someone was texting and driving...
I saved a motorcyclist’s
life by turning my wheels —
but I couldn’t save myself
from two cars nearly killing me.
A machine breathed
for me
for days.
So much for being
queen of the Universe.
All my life
I took care of myself —
I still had the brains,
I still had the power,
but that doesn’t matter
when the tech market drops
and you can’t get
or keep a job.
#
And I suppose this is when
you insert the story book ending,
where a knight in shining armor
sweeps me off my feet.
But it truly only was
when I was at the bottom
that I met someone
who could bring me along
on a trip to the top
together.
Suddenly this idea of marriage
didn’t seem so scary.
This is someone who is like me —
and more importantly, is different from me.
Because nobody knows
what they’re doing
when they take
their first steps
together in this life...
But if you can learn to tolerate poetry,
I can learn to tolerate rifle ranges
and target practice.
You’re my race car driver,
you’re my motorcycle man,
like the motorcyclist I saved
the day I almost died.
Maybe you’re also my reward...
So although I don’t know
what will happen the day
after the day of my wedding to you,
I can’t help but feel
that the road before us
must be clearing up,
and if we tackle this ocean of life together
it will be smooth sailing
all the way.
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