At The Wedding - A Parent's View

My goodness - they have filled the room

With exes of the bride and groom

I've got a lot that I could say 

But they would wish I'd stayed away

I could say that she's been around

I could say he's hard to tie down

I could say, I really worry

I could ask them, what's the hurry?

I could say, yes, she is a dear

You should have married her last year

I could have asked, what took so long?

Those ons and offs!  Now, what went wrong?

They won't let me give a speech

At top table we're out of reach

Our chief job is to sit and smile

Not tell the bride to run a mile

I sat and read the seating list

I've noted all the good  friends missed

But out of that small, happy crowd

When they said their vows, who laughed so loud?

 I saw the tall, wheelchairs, the small, 

The old, the young, the thin, the fat, 

That girl who wore the biggest  hat, 

The usher with no tie, nor hat 

They say our son is quite a catch

They don't say my hat doesn't match

It's what it is, not what it ain't

Because the room's too hot - I faint

I sit down. But soon recover

Looking pale like a grandmother

Our minister, we'd two, now one

Just carries on until he's done

We've donned finest hats and dresses

For two hours forget all stresses

A voice declared them man and wife

In other words, you're stuck for life

We're off to lunch to eat our fill

Just pay the bill, son, change your will

You two are now hitched up for life

Politely called a man and wife

The best man, who should be on guard

To stop a fight, is trying hard

Best man's a Dad and looking thin,

 His girl's had five - they live in sin

Thee best man wore a funny hat

He stood up, his first joke fell flat 

He hints secrets he'll never tell

Unless he's drunk - let's wish them well!

The groom is swaying, too, I think

He must have had too much to drink

He's lots to hide from his new bride. 

Her parents, and exes beside 

I've got so much I want to say

I'll leave it till another day

I won't tell them all that I know

I'll never say, I told you so.

She chose to forsake all other

Mother, father, sister, brother

He never heeded our advice

Although we told him once, then twice

Once married, he will quickly find

His wife will want to change his mind

On everything he thought was right

What he buys and does, dawn 'til night

Yet she will think the same is true

Once being wed's no longer new

Though two can live as cheap as one

To overspend's now twice the fun

I'm not sure which one's the winner

Just McDonalds making dinner

I'm sure they'll muddle through somehow

Best news - it's not our problem now.

Photos show us in our glory

That picture tells half the story

The photos show how glad I feel

Her lot, like ours, not down at heel

There's no cost for simply bedding

But you need cash for a wedding

The newly-weds to work must set

To pay off all their wedding debt

I hope their marriage lasts a year

So I'll retire and disappear

We've a spare room, with junk, at home

If they want me, I'll Answerphone

Being a mother was quite tough

But I've survived hurdles and rough

I've done enough. But I can't quit -

They'll soon demand I babysit!

A wedding proves what we all know

All that can go wrong will do so

I hope that you'll give me applause

Was our wedding like yours - or worse than yours?

-ends-

Angela Lansbury Nov 15 2020

Poetry Revision Notes

The first draft improved after i made every line eight syllables

I made each verse end with a surprise

I changed 'and one or two others beside' to the more specific 

Her parents, and exes, beside

I changed

Two can get twice as little done

Alternative endings:

Our wedding was the same as yours

Was our wedding the same as yours?

About the Author

Angela Lansbury is the author of 20 books, 10 by traditional publishers, ten self-published through Lulu.com the print on demand system.

Angela's books include:

Poetry Workbook - A handy book for yourself or a friend who is a poet, adult or schoolchild. The poems are amusing and there's a handy guide to all the formats, such as the two main styles of sonnet, the numbers of syllables in haiku, villanelles and so on.

In addition to other posts on this blog, please bookmark and share linkes with your colleagues and friends and family to the two  most written and most read of my other 20 blogs:

travelwtihangelalansbury.blogspot.com

dressofthedayangela.blogspot.com