There should have been a party today.

And there would have been one, too.

It would have been grand.

Friends and family would have gathered in the halls.

Some bearing gifts.

All bringing well wishes and memories.

All because of fifty years.

I mean, fifty years is a long time.

It can be a lifetime.

It’s longer than a lifetime for some.

All to commemorate a wedding

in a church

on July 25, 1964.

It would have been a great party.

 

Perhaps

she reminisces on her side of the veil

and is wished a happy anniversary

while he slowly twists the ring on his finger

and remembers

and is surrounded by muted tones.

 

Perhaps

there are tears on both sides of the veil today.

Well-earned tears.

Forty seven years together,

3 years separated

not by choice.

They earned those tears.

There should have been a party today.