The oven that nearly killed us

Love in domesticity

Photo by Nina Matcharashvili on Unsplash

we had the best life
you and I
when we thought we had
all the worries in the world
like
— paying the rent
— that hole in the kitchen wall,
(you know, the one that looked like
Doctor Who’s crack in time
and Matt Smith’s still my favourite doctor, by the way)
— the oven that nearly killed us
— the day Princess Diana died
we had the best life, then

now, in our dreams, as we nod off
and we remind each other to
— check we turned off the boiler
— pay the electricity bill
— make sure we don’t miss our three doctor’s appointments
there is something missing
but also something better than what
we used to have

back then
we didn’t know if we would make it this far
we didn’t know if it really was ‘forever’
and it kind of was, with a break in between
(but that doesn’t really count
because
well
it really doesn’t)
we still had that gossamer fine thread
the spider’s web
(but not a spider because they frighten you)
anyway, whoever spun it, that web
it bound us together
death
illness
distance
family
couldn’t part us

couldn’t
part
us

the bond remained

and so here we are
decades later
still joking about that hole in the wall
still wondering if that oven attacked anyone else
still grumbling about who steals the duvet in the night
(it’s not me, darling)
still waking up to each other’s faces
just a little more wrinkled
hair just a little more sprinkled
than before

we had the best life
and the best dreams
ever
there is still better yet to come
I promise

See you in the morning, sweetheart
I love you

I’m not usually found writing soft, gentle poems, or at least not in the usual way (I don’t think). But I was waiting for the banana bread to bake, and I made it because the love of my life is having a rough time, and she adores banana bread, so… here’s my bedtime story poem. I hope you enjoy it.

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If you enjoyed this, you can buy me a coffee - fair warning, I’ll buy books! Or notebooks. Or stationery.

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And.. Or… you can do this!