A Marriage

The official marriage was doomed:

the mis-union of a 1950's chauvinist

who thought pregnant women should not appear 

in public, their job to do

all the work
of housecleaning and childcare
to

a soon-to-break-free spirit

who needed, for survival, to soar above

the chains that bound her 
and make a roof of
the sky.

The actual groom had fangs

and a toothy hilarious grin; black fur

from comical ears to tail-tip -

the freest, wildest being 

she would ever know.

They were a perfect match

and lived fourteen years together

along the river and the forest trails,

and cavorting merrily
at the edge of the sea.
No marriage of convenience, this;
they were soulmates,
who knew the joy
of being free.