To Have & To Hold-Off

To Have & To Hold-Off

When I was nine, they told me,
I would marry,
Some day, long away.
I wondered who she’d be,
Whom I would marry –
Would I get a say ?
I knew I’d have to wait,
And so I waited –
But was led astray.
I thought my future fate
Was overrated –
I would rather play.

When I was seventeen, I learned
That I could marry
There and then.
I was of age, the right was earned,
To marry
Sue or Imogen.
Not that I knew of Sue,
Or Jane, or Kate,
Or any girl like that –
I had exams to do,
They’d have to wait,
I hadn’t time to chat.

When I was twenty-two, I felt
No hurry,
I had long enough –
I played my hand as dealt,
With not a worry
’Bout that marriage stuff.
I never doubted I
Would still succumb
To walking down the aisle.
But not today, I’d sigh,
Though not so glum –
Best put it off a while.

When I was thirty-three, my oldest friend
Got married
Out the blue.
I wondered if this were my end ?,
And tarried
On the best man’s pew.
Should I be busy scouting out
A wife ?,
Had I now come to this ?
Was I now forced, despite my pout,
To share my life
With wedded bliss ?

When I was forty-four,
And still not married,
I was short of time…
I could delay no more,
For all I parried,
Burning through my prime.
I had to face the fact
It’s now or never –
I was flabbergasted !
Had to get my act
Quick up-together,
While the music lasted…

But now I’m fifty-five,
And still unmarried,
Yet am quite content –
I found that I can thrive
When left unharried
By the Big Event.
No more anticipating
To propose,
And life is no less good.
I am no longer waiting –
But who knows,
One day, I guess I could…