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Column 376

Marriage

Intro by Ted Kooser
06.03.2012

Though most of us are not for­mal­ly known as diplo­mats, many of us learn to be experts at domes­tic diplo­ma­cy, and the sorts of com­plex nego­ti­a­tions we find our­selves in can require a lot of patience. Here’s Dan Ger­ber, who lives in Cal­i­for­nia, show­ing us some of that patience.

Marriage

When you are angry it’s your gentle self
I love until that’s who you are.
In any case, I can’t love this anger any more
than I can warm my heart with ice.
I go on loving your smile
till it finds its way back to your face.

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Disclaimer

We do not accept unsolicited submissions

We do not accept unsolicited submissions. American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation (www.poetryfoundation.org), publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Poem copyright ©2011 by Dan Gerber. In 2012, Copper Canyon Press will publish Dan Gerber’s Sailing Through Cassiopeia. Poem reprinted by permission of Dan Gerber. Introduction copyright © 2024 by The Poetry Foundation.