Yesterday, August 7th, my husband and I celebrated our 41st wedding anniversary with a nice dinner made complete with tiramisu. For our 25th anniversary trip to Italy, I started a tiramisu quest. Each dinner we had in Italy, I told the waiter that I was on a quest for the best tiramisu. They would give me special treatment and hover in anticipation for my first bite. I found that every tiramisu is its own unique experience.
In Florida with my daughter last week, the tiramisu had a chocolate, nutty icing. Mmm! Who doesn’t love chocolate. Last night the icing was white and light and just right. I enjoyed every bite. So the quest continues.
I’m reading poetry books for the Sealy Challenge and this stanza by Amanda Gorman from Call Us What We Carry moved me.
How Can We not Be Altered?
By a toddler at the table next to us
bouncing in pure delight
playing peep-eye with us.
I share our delight with her parents
who ask, “What is the key to a long marriage?”“Communication,” I say, but know that’s not all.
Margaret Simon, draft
Long marriage comes when you travel
through tough stuff and taste sweet tiramisu
on a mountain in Italy.
It comes with a soft hand
when a parent dies,
a long hug when your heart hurts.
It comes from the grin of your granddaughter
who looks just like the daughter
you created together.
Long marriage is not magical.
It’s marveling at the slant of light at the end of the day,
stopping to take a photo of the rainbow
or the field of sunflowers.
Long love is mistakes and madness,
messages and miracles
every day.
Reflections on the Teche 
What a beautiful piece including the poetry! And, congratulations. My husband and I just reached the 30 year milestone in June. He’s a Tiramisu fan so your quest for the very best is relatable, esp. since we’ve looked for the best chicken fried steak and hotel bar.
Margaret, happy anniversary. Beautiful thoughts and I learned something new about you and your tiramisu quest. I love your poem especially, “Long marriage comes when you travel / through tough stuff and taste sweet tiramisu” I’m curious about the last word of your poem. Did some get cut off, or do I need to spend more time with that last line?
Yes. I had a terrible time with WordPress this morning. I had to recreate the poem because it didn’t save. The end is missing. When I get back to my computer, I will fix it. Thanks for letting me know.
Margaret, happy Anniversary to you two! This brings back memories of the cooking class we took in Rome on an EF Tour. We learned to make Tiramisu, and it was wonderful. You make me want to buy the ingredients and try my hand on US soil…..it could never be as good. I like your idea to “find the best,” on a quest. Makes me want to start searching for the best of a lot of things……starting with banana pudding.
Yum! Banana pudding is the best thing they make in Mississippi. Bread pudding is a Louisiana delicacy. Please come back and read the whole poem. WordPress cut it off and I’ve fixed it, I think.
Happy Anniversary! I love that tiramisu is a favorite of yours, as it is of mine. As my husband just noted, “Finding the best tiramisu is a noble quest!” Your poem is a lovely reflection on “long love.” Congratulations!!!
Congratulations and that is the prettiest tiramisu I’ve every seen – honestly. I love your poem – it is spot on!
Happy Anniversary and thank you for evoking so many wonderful images in my own long marriage…that has a tiramisu story in Italy, also! 🙂
Love the “spice of life” take on slicing. Love how your anniversary dinner was at an Italian restaurant. Love the wisdom and sweetness conveyed by your poem. Love that the tiramisu quest feels like more of a discovery of differences rather than a quest for perfection.
Thanks for stopping by.
Yes to the lovely and authentic poem…
[…] Williams Call Us What We Carry by Amanda Gorman (I borrowed a line and wrote an anniversary poem here) Tap Dancing on the Roof (Sijo Poems) by Linda Sue […]