“The Artists”

We began like an artist,

observing the scene,

watching each other from afar.

Carefully, we began to

sketch a rough outline

of things held in common.

Cautiously, we touched brush to canvas—

     a first dash of red, a gentle blue.

    Here a sparkle of green leaves in the sun,

     a glint of mahogany.

    Then a slight sliver of silver on black—

     the light of a summer’s moon.

    There the dusky grey of

     twilight; the orange splash of

      the rising sun.

From the first we were

careful to explore

each new hue.

Trying to create,

with strokes of the brush,

a life together.

Copyright 1978 Elizabeth Abrams Chapman

I wrote this poem soon after David and I met. We knew, almost from the first, that we'd spend our life together. Often people ask me what's the trick to a long, successful marriage, but I don't have an answer. Love, commitment, friendship, determination, acceptance, compromise, respect--key components to any relationship. I do believe, though, that too many people throw out the canvas after a mistroke of the brush.