VEGANGELICA

She was a Midwestern girl

chasing fireflies at dark

among the families

resting on blankets in the park

with sparklers glowing

every Fourth of July

and as she watched the fireworks explode,

smoke drifting through the sky

        she dreamed of a happy family,

        the one she hoped to have someday

        like those she could see

        with a loving husband and children

        whom they adored.

        And she prayed, "Please let me find someone

        who loves me, oh Lord."

She liked her high school.

She volunteered and loved to sing.

She had a nice group of friends

yet still she felt a yearning

for a deeper closeness

and connection with someone.

While waiting for that soul she felt

life hadn’t really begun.

As a woman in college

she studied sociology,

wondered if she’d recognize

the special look when finally

someone would notice her

and all the love she had to give

and they could start to live the life

she’d been waiting her whole life to live

        the life of a happy family,

        the one she hoped to have someday

         like those she could see

        with a loving husband and children

        whom they adored.

         And she prayed, "Please let me be with someone

        who loves me, oh Lord."

He was a Midwestern boy,

almost always home by ten.

He liked to skate at the rink

and take a date to the drive-in.

And when he left home

for college now that he was grown

he hoped to find a woman to love

and start a family of his own.

He saw her in a class

at the university.

She was a good student

and so sweet and pretty.

She had a sense of humor

and a quiet calm that put him at ease.

They dated several years before

he asked her to marry him, please.

        And he promised,

        "I’ll be with you, to cherish and to hold,

        until our kids are grown, ‘til we grow old,

        forsaking all others ‘til death makes us part,

        but even then if I could I would

        still hold you in my heart.

They rented a little home.

He started work at a company.

She had a nice job she quit

when they had a baby.

She planted a garden

and welcomed him home at the end of the day.

It wasn’t long before

another child was on the way.

He worked long hours

and started coming home late.

He went on business trips.

She missed it when they used to date.

She said she was lonely,

and he said he understood

but he wanted to provide for them

and the pay was good.

        They had a happy family,

        almost like the one she’d always hoped

        hers would be,

        with a loving husband and children

        whom they adored.

        "I am so fortunate I found him," she prayed.

        "Oh Lord."

Their family photographs

were smiling down from the wall,

yet he started to seem withdrawn.

He played with the kids, but that was all.

When they went to bed at night

she asked him if he’d like to talk.

He said he’d like to, honey, but he was tired

and look at the clock.

They were making dinner

as she watched the kids play in the yard.

He said he had something

to say and doing so was hard.

He’d met somebody

who moved him like no one else had.

"I think we should divorce," he said,

destroying all they’d had,

        the dream of a happy family,

        the one she’d hoped to have someday

        like those she could see

        with a loving husband and children

        whom he adored.

        And she prayed, "Please let us find a way

        through this, oh Lord."

Bad things happen

to people who are good.

Good people contemplate

things they never thought they would.

When do you let go?

When do you say the past is past.

I used to love you,

but the feeling didn’t last.

Sad things happen

to people who are good.

Good people do things

they never thought they would.

When do you say I won’t,

since promises are promises.

Life isn’t perfect, but that’s

just the way life is.

She wakes in the middle of the night.

A dream has made her cry.

She reaches across the bed

to where her husband used to lie.

She remembers the times they had

and the mirage of happiness.

Now in darkness she is left

with just his promise...

        "I’ll be with you, to cherish and to hold,

        until our kids are grown, ‘til we grow old,

        forsaking all others ‘til death makes us part,

        but even then if I could I would

        still hold you in my heart.

        "I promise to cherish and to hold,

        until our kids are grown, ‘til we grow old,

        forsaking all others even when it’s hard to do,

        and through the worst of bad times

        I’ll stay with you."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Picture Sources:

Firefly (Public Domain)

Fireworks (Public Domain) photo by Anna Cervova, www.publicdomainpictures.net