Rubbing Along (Poetry)

She wasn’t what he wanted
although he’d never say
or mention love’s cool goddess —
how that vision slipped away

Each night they’d sit there quietly
dreaming of alternate lives
useless longing suffocated
victims of life’s compromise

Like a million aging couples
signed up to play the game
found out romance is fickle
but there’s nobody to blame

No, he wasn’t what she wanted
but they rubbed along okay
disillusion never uttered
buried far too deep to say

There are those who judge them happy —
quite contented with their lives
for martyrs don’t give much away
and rarely roll their eyes