My favourite poem

Most people, even those who know us fairly well, would probably think that Karen is the less romantic of the two of us - not true! She often organises little romantic gestures, while I'm completely crap at that kind of thing. Instead, I show my love for her (and other important people in my life) via the things that I do for them, often just little things that are designed to make their lives easier. As such, they may go un-noticed, but it's just the way that I demonstrate love.

So this poem sums up perfectly my relationship with Karen, and how I show my love for her everyday. I'm thinking of reading it at our Civil Partnership ceremony in 3 weeks time.


ATLAS
By UA Fanthorpe

There is a kind of love called maintenance,
Which stores the WD40 and knows when to use it;

Which checks the insurance, and doesn’t forget
The milkman; which remembers to plant bulbs;

Which answers letters; which knows the way
The money goes; which deals with dentists

And Road Fund Tax and meeting trains,
And postcards to the lonely; which upholds

The permanently ricketty elaborate
Structures of living; which is Atlas.

And maintenance is the sensible side of love,
Which knows what time and weather are doing
To my brickwork; insulates my faulty wiring;
Laughs at my dry-rotten jokes; remembers
My need for gloss and grouting; which keeps
My suspect edifice upright in air,
As Atlas did the sky.