A free verse poem written for my wife Linda.

I feel unworthy,
unworthy and most fortunate,
for I am blessed to love
and to be loved by you,
my sweet Linda, my wife.

You possess the purest soul,
the kindest heart, and
the most considerate nature
of any person I’ve ever known.
All who know you call you
“an angel on earth”.

My heart and my mind are filled
with eternal love for you,
a love that lifts my spirits and
allows me to soar with eagles.
Your smile, your touch, your kiss
make me glad to be alive.
Even on the darkest of days,
you bring sunshine into my life.
I could not exist without you,
could not, would not wish to exist.

You have made me a better man
through your limitless capacity
for love, consideration, and patience
for others. I try following in your
footsteps, but I would falter
without your constant support.
I have become like a lichen,
incomplete on my own, requiring
you to make me a whole man.
That you, whom any man would
cherish, have chosen me to love
fills me with wonder and gratitude
each and every day.

We’ve shared twenty-two happy
years as husband and wife. I hope
for twenty more before death claims
one of us, and then I pray it be me.
Without you, I could no more survive
than a tree without sun and water.
Should you exit this life first,
I would envy the ancient Greeks
their funeral pyres. For I would
wish to throw myself upon your
flaming pyre so we both might
ascend to the heavens together
as one, eternally intermixed --
should the gods not find me
unworthy to be in your presence.
I feel unworthy.