if I had a dollar

I wrote a poem today. I was walking home from work, thinking it would be nice if I had a little bit of cash to buy a little something to surprise my wonderful wife with.

I thought to myself, “If I had a dollar, I’d buy a flower.” And then I thought, “That almost rhymes. Well, not really, but whatever.” So I started trying to write a poem in my head.

I’m not very good at writing poems in my head. I tend to lose track of details and forget the beginning when I’m working on the middle and usually never quite make it to the end. But trying to write it in my head kept me from forgetting the whole concept of the poem, and so when I got home I sat down to actually write.

It’s pretty sappy, and it definitely doesn’t rhyme all the way through, but my gracious wife likes it, and that’s who I wrote for, and that’s all that matters.

So, for better or worse, here’s the poem:

If I had a dollar
I’d buy you flower
Petals so pretty and pink
Fragrance so wonderfully sweet

If I had several more
I’d buy you a card or four
With lovely little pictures
And fancy little sweet nothings

And if I had a million
I’d buy you the house of your dreams
A cozy little cottage
In the woods by the sea

We’d snuggle up by the fire
Serenaded by the wind, the rain, the waves,
With the flower’s fragrance in the air,
With the cute little cards held near,

You’d fall in love with me

But all that stuff I haven’t got
All I have that I can give
Is a hug and a kiss,
my heart and a wish

And you say it is enough
So who am I to argue?
Flowers are nice you say
And cards, I guess they’re okay

But flowers tend to wilt and fade
While empty cards with empty
words will never fill your heart
As for the house, well, hopefully someday

So here we are and here we stay
In each other’s arms and each other’s hearts
With a hug, a smile, and a kiss
Each and every day.

There may never be enough money
to have everything we want
But there will always be love enough
to have everything we need