[Edwin Arlington Robinson]
Ethan and Edna, neither saying much,
Came to be married. There was no “I do”;
They merely nodded when the rite was through
Without a kiss or clasp or cleaving clutch.
No guest there reckoned what to make of such
Restraint ‘twixt lovers, and, to tell it true,
They left in silence, and no children threw
Rice in their hair, a fitting final touch.
But they lived happily, as if they meant
To prove the best thoughts are the ones unheard
And the most treasured coins are never spent
And the best batter sets when barely stirred.
They died the same day, with no argument
Of who had got to say the final word.
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