by Houston Arledge

I’ve been waiting for the day
Of matrimony, delayed far too long already.
I’ve been waiting since the day
I first experienced life.

And I saw that it was good, but there had to be more.

I first recognized it at a pool table,
Surrounded by barely pubescent boys,
I was one myself.
Life came in a word,

“Friend,” it was my cue to stick around.

Torn felt and chipped wood
The composition of an altar
Etched with my scratches and mistakes
And a ram in the thicket in my place

One year and three days removed from that tomb,
I experienced all that life had to offer.
A love story repeated countless times
But this was the first I recognized my name in it.

I celebrated with bread and juice a few weeks thence.

Since that day, I’ve been waiting
For the day of matrimony, rejoicing
For the good gifts, You send in your delay.
You will not always delay.

You will come for your bride.

Houston Arledge is a seminarian, college minister, poet, digital artist and coffee enthusiast from Denton, Texas.

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