Pausing for Poetry

The following poem by Louis Simpson is one of my favorites because not only does it make me laugh, it carries meaning for me on several levels. I think it says alot about how folks allow others to influence their most important decisions.

Ed by Louis Simpson

Ed was in love with a cocktail waitress,
but Ed's family, and his friends,
didn't approve. So he broke it off.

He married a respectable woman
who played the piano. She played well enough
to have been a professional.

Ed's wife left him...
Years later, at a family gathering
Ed got drunk and made a fool of himself.

He said, "I should have married Doreen."
"Well," they said, "why didn't you?"