Poem: "Unspoken Vows"

This poem came out of the January 21, 2014 bonus Poetry Fishbowl.  It was inspired by a prompt from technoshaman.  It also fills the "domestic bliss" square on my 12-11-13 card for the Ladies Bingo fest.  This poem has been sponsored by Anthony & Shirley Barrette.  It belongs to the series Walking the Beat.

There are two black women
who live together in Jamaica Plain,
so old that their cornrows
are white as winter fields.
Abigail and Phoebe do everything
side-by-side, and it's rare
to find either without the other.

Dale and Kelly see them sometimes
in the shops and coffeehouses
around the neighborhood,
holding hands but not wearing rings.

Dale doesn't like to flaunt 
her marriage with Kelly --
their rings are plain gold,
traditional and understated --
but it's nice to have that recognition.

She wonders, sometimes,
why anyone would choose
not to get married when they could;
but she doesn't ask,
because that would be nosy,
and she doesn't want to be rude.

So Dale asks only, "Are you coming
to the Gay Pride Parade later this month?"

Abigail chuckles softly.  "Just because
we have a Boston marriage
doesn't make us lesbians, dear," she says.
"I've never been interested in anyone that way."

Dale looks at Phoebe,
who is sitting right there,
and wonders what the heck
is up with these two batty old women.

Phoebe shrugs and says,
"I had a few boyfriends,
but then I met Abigail.
Weddings are for lovers,
and that's not us."

"Parades are for young folks,"
Abigail adds.  "You kids have fun.
Thanks for asking, though."

Kelly pulls Dale away
before things can get
any more  embarrassing.

Of course it doesn't matter
to Dale and Kelly
what people do -- or don't do --
in their own bedroom.
It's just a little odd to realize
that an assumption wasn't
quite where it should have been

like a loose brick in a road
that wobbles when you step on it.

* * *

Notes:

Look up state marriage laws and you can see how early Massachusetts legalized same-sex marriages.

Gay pride has a history that began with the Stonewall riots.

A Boston marriage refers to two women living together without a man.  Most likely this includes both lesbian and queerplatonic relationships.