The ice cold wind on our faces
Snow on the ground
Walking hand in hand
Leafless trees all around
The walks down main street
No money at all
The laughter in your eyes
The occasional snowball
The sleepless nights
Watching pay-tv
Playing backgammon games
Drinking coffee after coffee
The clothes that fought in the dryer
Sleeping on the livingroom floor
The drunk journey home in the rain
Being happy because we were poor
The words that were said in our fights
Tears streaming down a face
The pain of you leaving for jail
Getting our very first place
The bottle of booze on the counter
Music slapping our ears
Clean-up time in the morning
Must have had too many beers
The struggles to get out of bed
Home much too early from school
Collecting fossils on the railroad
Acting like such a fool
The camping trip on the weekend
Guzzling down ice cold brew
The muddy wet camp in the morning
Cooking pancakes and brown beans for you
The walks to the store at night
Sitting on the bench just to talk
The tears and fights still exist
Our cat taking us for a walk
The small hotel room with a bed
Ready to open cans of soup
The unbearable heat of late summer
The feeling of being locked in a coup
Your long hard worked days in tobacco
The dirt on your unshaven face
Fighting as in all out war
Our tiring slowing down pace
The chance to start out fresh
Our second home together
The scars from our battles
The changing of the weather
The talks at Hepburn Park
Tearing each other apart
The threats, the pain, the confusion
The shrinking of my heart
The ex-communication
Slowly deepening pain
The hatred, the love, the frustration
Couldn't we start all over again?
Cathy Roy (Smith)
'83
Dedicated to my first husband.
