Marriage In Three Stages

First stage Man and wife are equally blind Not a single blemish comes to their sight Like Cyclopes they are one eyed, Each feels- 'a love like this is hard to find' Every now and then they chant the litany of love They are on an exciting expedition Explorers rather than fellow travelers And thrilled at every new discovery, They stick together as two magnets, Moving in a high powered circuit Second Stage They begin to taste life’s bitter juice Between them grows a stale familiarity Which on their face they carry like an ugly wart Now they become Argus eyed Nothing escapes their notice Distance creeps into them Tastes differ, arguments crop up Sometimes they holler at each other Even minor differences of opinion End up as a high voltage drama Third Stage Both grow equally frail and infirm Differences are ironed out Their talk always verge on Ailments like constipation and insomnia In looks, they grow more and more alike As though the long years Have made their features blend and bleed Even they smell similar A mixed odor of dried cuticle And the smell of some balm That they liberally apply On their aching back and stiff joints While walking, they support each other Careful not to slip and fall Has the lost love come back? Or is it all just a survival mechanism!