[FOsen]

[ROBERT FROST]

Some marriages combust and end in fire,
Some others ossify and end in ice,
But either way, that path is full of briar,
So heed this old New Englander's advice:

To skirt the road whose ending-place is dire,
Just let your spouse control the thermostat.
You ought keep promises, don't be a liar,
But more important, more than all of that,

Relinquish and avoid the one device
Which causes frigid rifts and burning ire
Involving each mate's comfort and its price.
Swear that for love you'll shiver or perspire,

Grin like an oven-bird; that should suffice.
Don’t be disconsolate, all won’t be lost.
Employ, on snowy evenings, what proved nice
and worked for me—a little touch of Frost.

-- Frank