All marriages are challenging
But only some prove troubling
What troubles a couple varies
Some say they got a raw deal
That marriage itself, or their particular mate
Didn’t pan out as planned
Plain and simple
Some complain they’d been jipped
That marriage promised much and delivered way too little
It was to have made a world of difference
Which it did, but not in the way one hoped
Rather than bringing the best out in one another
It somehow did the opposite
Much to the chagrin of each
Without either quite knowing who or what to blame
For loves demise
Marriage is meant to bring a couple closer
To make each feel both loving and loved
It offers a chance to know and be known
To feel touched by another and to feel our affect on that other
Such that each makes a difference in the other’s life
Ideally for the positive
If not always
Marriage is meant to create a reassuring bond
That feels safe
Saving us from feeling isolated and alone
Lost in our singularity
Without the added definition
That comes from such warm and enveloping words as
We, us, our
Marriage delivers much, but it also demands much
That much it can promise