Symbol of Love

The band was of silver
it cost hardly a cent
but it’s significance was more
than the money you spent

It symbolized our love
our commitment and life
all the vows that we shared
when you made me your wife

A continuous circle
no beginning and no end
just a lifetime of sharing
with my closest friend

The silver got worn
it was bent, beat and scratched
the ring and our lives
they were very well matched

I would twist it and turn it
and worry those nights
when you didn’t come home
and I left on the lights

My skin was indented
by the dull metal ring
alone on those nights
no comfort would it bring

I turned it so much
as I waited and cried
not knowing when
or how you had died

You always came home
at least most of the time
drunken and dirty
and smelling of wine

Always a promise
a pact you would break
as you left for the bars
my fingers would ache

From twisting and turning
that thin silver band
until the last day
when it broke in my hand

I saw the beginning
I saw it had end
I knew at that moment
there was no way to mend

It slipped off of my hand
and onto the bed
the meaning it seemed
had been all in my head

The symbol of love
is not silver nor gold
It’s just being there
when you need someone to hold