The Difficulty That Is Marriage

We disagree to disagree, we divide, we differ;
Yet each night, as I lie in bed beside you
And you are far away curled up in sleep
I array the moonlit ceiling with a mosaic of question-marks;
How was it I was so lucky to have ever met you?
I am no brave pagan proud of my mortality,
Yet gladly on this changeling earth I should live forever
If it were with you, my sleeping friend.
I have my troubles and I shall always have them
but I should rather live with you forever
Than exchange my troubles for a changeless kingdom.
But I do not put you on a pedestal or throne;
You must have your faults, but I do not see them.
If it were with you, I shall live forever.

Paul Durcan (Irish poet)