Coupled No More
Couples make an entity
A joint personality
With tastes in music and food
Wine and politics
Cars and art

If the pair should differ on this or that
It only adds a facet
To the polished whole
Until, through death, that whole is no more

The survivor must create a new entity
Or not
Some fade, not able to cope
Nor caring
Gone within the year

Others opt for the quiet life
Old friends kept at arm’s length
They potter about their memories
Garden in the morning
Read in the afternoon
Then a glass of wine or beer
Or two
Dinner with the evening news
Withdrawal
There’s comfort to be had in that

Some go for a quick remarriage
A gamble on restoring coupled bliss
With someone known for years
Or someone new
Either way it’s a risk
That might be worth taking

Another approach
No doubt the wiser
Is the gradual re-engagement
So often seen
With life

Garden, books, the TV news
To be sure
But friendships still and other interests
Travel, concerts, the occasional play
Some take courses
Volunteer
Enter on a faith journey
Buy a Harley

Some find intimacy once more
After a time
Or done with that
Take their joy in children and grandchildren
If there be such
Or in the lives of others

Which path will any of us take?
We can’t know in advance
We may never need to know