He said he feared she’d figure out
just what a duck he is.
His language cracked her can with doubt
and flattened all the fizz.

Her second self-described as tense
and though she disagreed,
the stress with him waxed so immense,
their future waned at speed.

It took her nearly 50 years
of argument and grief,
to give a partner both her ears:
attention and belief.