Noches Solitarias

When you get married to a soldier,

Then terms like guns, grenades and magazines,

Should not be a bother,

You get used to heavy boots and bloody scenes,

Lonely and cold nights become familiar,

When he is on a peace-keeping mission in say, Somalia.

When you get married to a doctor,

Then terms like gloves, syringes and Schizophrenia,

Should not be a bother,

You get used to white lab coats and stethoscope plugged in the ear,

Lonely and cold nights become your companion,

When he is cutting and opening pregnant abdomens during late night emergency operation.

When you get married to a teacher,

Then terms like lesson plan, low pay, exam papers and C.A.T.S,

Will not fail to feature,

In your daily conversations,

You get used to pressed shirts, red pens and chalky fingers,

Lonely and cold nights become your friend,

When he is busy marking a pile of papers till late in the night.

Why then do you complain?

When you get married to a writer,

And terms like fiction, essay, poetry, and book clubs,

Become part and parcel of your vocabulary,

Why do you refuse?

To get used to abrupt travels, Microsoft word and unfinished manuscripts,

Why don’t you understand?

That lonely and cold nights will become your comforter,

Those nights he stays up late to polish up the final draft?

(image/www.fineartamerica.com)