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A Precious Wife Is Like Fine Wine

A precious wife is like fine wine, made mellow with the years,
Aged in a barrel made of smiles and laughter, sighs and tears.
Though time may etch its lines upon her once unfurrowed face,
Time’s passage makes her well-refined in every wifely grace.

The outward jar, her earthen vessel, may show signs of age,
But once outpoured, her character, mature and sweet and sage,
Upon her husband’s palate leaves a pleasant aftertaste,
Which makes him long to savor her with passions pure and chaste.

He finds her more intoxicating with the march of time,
More fair than younger “nouveau” wives, a dozen for a dime.
For in her eyes he sees the sparkle of a vintage soul,
A deep, well-rounded character, full-bodied, rich and whole.

Each day he tastes a myriad of tantalizing notes
While drinking in her ever-flowing love, on which he floats;
At times, he tastes a hint of citrus in her tangy speech,
At times, her words are smooth as cream or piquant like a peach.

Yes, like fine wine, a precious wife’s a blessing to procure:
With you, my love, I feel like a most privileged connoisseur
Who finds a vintage rare as gold and opens it one day,
And takes one sip and says, “What taste! I’m simply blown away!”

With each new year your maturation makes me want you more.
Don’t worry if the bottle fades, it’s you that I adore!
You are the wine made from ripe fruit the sunshine swelled like leaven
Beneath the blue Sicilian skies—then sent to me from heaven!

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I’ll Wish My Years Away

I’ll wish my years away—oh, yes, I will!
For old age is a state of mind, they say;
Though matter’s strong, the mind is stronger still
And will can make the wilting go away!

Trust in perpetual youth with all your might;
Just tell yourself, “I’m young!” and you will see
Those wrinkles and round tummy taking flight,
And from that turkey neck, you’ll be set free!

You’ll have a thick mop on that bald top now
If only you will tell the years to go!
For lying age to strong resolve must bow
(A simple fact that simpletons don’t know).

You don’t have to accept your thinning hair,
Or liver spots, or slowly waning strength;
Call forth thick locks, and “poof!” they will be there;
Clear skin and vigor will return at length.

You’ll sleep for hours, oblivious to the sound
Of early morning noises that disturb
The sleep of aging souls who haven’t found
The secret to ignore the early bird.

Stiff joints, weak limbs, and back aches that molest—
Don’t let them fool you! They are but mere shades
Dispelled by truth; just choose to live your best
Life now, and waves of strength will flow in spades.

Don’t give in to that fatalistic mood
That says, “I’m sixty-two, then sixty-three.”
Reverse the march of years! For attitude
Is key to being young as you would be.

And yet. . .no matter what I do or say,
The flow of time still drags me in its stream;
My outer man keeps wasting still away,
Despite my fight to wake up from this dream.

I find, therefore, there’s but one solid ground
On which a dying being can build hope
Of lasting youth; beyond this vale it’s found,
Past our descent on this life’s downward slope.

This is the one sure hope I entertain
Before the coming of the reaper’s call,
For hopes confined to this life are in vain,
Since age, decline, and death await us all.

We can’t evade invaders who would steal
Our youth away, for in this mortal sphere,
Death has its sway; but hope’s alive and real,
Since Christ, by death, has brought salvation near.

His life within me gives me hope, and so
I do not grieve excessively to see
My outer man decay, for this I know—
In Christ, I’ll be renewed—eternally!

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Martin Rizley grew up in Oklahoma and in Texas, and has served in pastoral ministry both in the United States and in Europe. He is currently serving as the pastor of a small evangelical church in the city of Málaga on the southern coast of Spain, where he lives with his wife and daughter. Martin has enjoyed writing and reading poetry as a hobby since his early youth.

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14 Responses

  1. Roy Eugene Peterson

    You must have been blessed with a wonderful wife and she will be blessed by your beautiful acknowledgement of a life well loved. The second poem perfectly describes the aging process and a strong mind that says to itself, “never mind.” Concluding with the message of that great hope eternal is the one everyone should heed and come to know. Both poems are excellent in their meter, message, and intention.

    Reply
    • Martin Rizley

      Thanks, Roy, for your comments. I realize that the sentiment expressed in the second poem could be taken in the wrong way as disparaging any effort made to keep our bodies in shape and to do what we can and must do to stay fit and stave off the ravages of age. We certainly need to keep a positive outlook about the physical benefits of exercise, a good diet and rest. The point is that we also need to be realistic about our mortality and the inevitability of physical decline and death, so that we have a “positive outlook” based on a reality that transcends this mortal sphere, not on the delusional dream of attaining perpetual youth in the here and now..

      Reply
  2. Brett Dickinson

    These two wonderful poems of yours were a gift from God this morning.

    Wow! What an incredible poem ‘A Precious Wife’ is. I am printing it out and plan on reading it to my wife this weekend on a special occassion. I especially love this line, ‘Don’t worry if the bottle fades, it’s you that I adore!’. Your poem has sufficiently motivated me to make a donation today.

    I already sent ‘I’ll Wish My Years Away’ to my sister who is battling cancer.

    Reply
    • Martin Rizley

      Brett, it is so encouraging for me to know that you plan to read the first poem to your wife and that you have already sent the second poem to your sister. Thanks for letting me know that these poems have impacted you personally, so that you want to share them with others. I hope, especially, that your sister will be strengthened in her struggle with cancer by the world-transcending hope expressed in the second poem, pointing to Him in whom eternal hope is to be found.

      Reply
    • Martin Rizley

      Brett, How gratifying it is to know that you were personally impacted by the poems so as to want to share them with others. I hope that the second poem, especially, will be of encouragement to your sister in her battle with cancer as it points to the One in whom enduring hope can be found that transcends this mortal life.

      Reply
  3. Wayne

    Amen Brother, some fine words. I have been blesseed with 52 years 24 days, and two sons.

    Reply
  4. Phil S. Rogers

    Both wonderful poems. Have emailed them to my wife. Thank you!

    Reply
  5. Susan Jarvis Bryant

    Mike and I woke to your poems this morning, and the words and sentiment of each prompted Mike to break into song. He sung “Believe Me If All Those Endearing Young Charms” to me… beautifully. I had never heard that song before, and along with the words of your poems it made the external evidence of my age fade to embrace of the enduring love soaring to heights that makes my heart melt. I am sure your wife is smiling. Martin, thank you!
    https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/relatedvideo?q=Believe%20Me%20If%20All%20Those%20Endearing%20Young%20Charms%20Bing%20Crosby&mid=E1C048AF856A391C1FDCE1C048AF856A391C1FDC&ajaxhist=0

    Reply
    • Martin Rizley

      I have always loved the song, “Believe me if all those endearing young charms”, with lyrics by the 19th century Irish poet Thomas More. I first heard it years ago, performed by John Gary on an album of classic Irish songs that my father had (A gem of an album that you can listen to in its entirety at the following link on Spotify– https://open.spotify.com/intl-es/album/3QG6fDCBwRuBeMHWVTDiqY). Gary enjoyed brief fame in the 1960´s as a gifted singer with a wide range of three octaves and incredible breath control, stemming from the fact that he had won several underwater swimming records. The words of the song by More are quite touching, though I doubt any woman would really like to be addressed by her husband, “My dear ruin”!

      Reply
  6. Shamik Banerjee

    Your creative prowess is evident through these poems, Mr. Rizley. In addition to enjoying the discrete subjects, I was firmly held by the sweet melodies that enrich each piece. Your wife must be very proud of you. The second poem begins with a peppy tone, talking about the changes that appear with age and how to drive them off with unchallenged optimism, and effortlessly transitions into faith, Christ, and your renewal through Him. Wonderful. God bless you!

    Reply
    • Martin Rizley

      Shamik, I so appreciate your response to the poems. Thank you for sharing your reflections. Your words remind me of that fact that poetry, like music, is a such a wonderful medium, because it always us to express thoughts and feelings common to our shared humanity (subjects), with appealing patterned speech (melodies) with which people of diverse backgrounds, cultures and life stories can immediately resonate and feel a sense of identification. May you, too, be blessed in all your endeavors.

      Reply
  7. Yael

    Both poems are very lovely and pleasant to read, thank you for sharing.

    Reply
  8. Margaret Coats

    Martin, I counted the “wine words” in “A Precious Wife,” trying not to count repetitions of the same word, and came up with thirty-three. You know the vocabulary and make fine use of it. At first I thought the poem was going to be an extended metaphor, and saw how problematic that could be. You were very wise to avoid the technique that would have had the wine-wife poured onto her husband’s palate (and similar infelicities). Instead (for these particular lines) the wine is her character, something else about her that can be described using choice wine words. Your many little changes in how the words are applied work out a highly attractive poem, in which the overflowing quantity of wine words is able to sustain a rich taste.

    You also made a wise poet’s decision in the positive tone for “I’ll Wish My Years Away.” Had you chosen satiric mockery of persons who do nothing but this-worldly wishing, you would have lost the lovely triple meaning that applies to many of your happily worded expressions: “trust in perpetual youth,” “live your best,” “hope of lasting youth,” “be renewed.” All of these can be understood to encourage (1) a positive psychological outlook, (2) the proper care taken to maintain bodily health and fitness, and (3) the more important attention to the life of the spirit. The reminder that hope for perpetual youth ultimately concerns the exercise of the soul in right and good and truth is extremely necessary–and of course that’s your main point. But attention to physical and psychological well-being usually helps even with spiritual matters, by fulfilling lesser duties and probably gaining additional time and strength for the course of life. I recently met a man who is two years younger than I, yet looks twenty years older because of numerous injuries sustained in extreme sports. His choice of recreation didn’t directly cause the probable shortening of life and health span, but there does seem to have been a lack of concern maintaining youth. I’m glad your poem makes it possible to look toward eternal youth in all of the several applicable ways.

    Reply
    • Martin Rizley

      Thank you, Margaret, for your observations. In actual fact, I am no expert on wine, but to write this poem, I did a little research to familiarize myself with the sort of words that connoisseurs use to describe the qualities of wine (yes, lists of such words can be found easily on line!). That helped a great deal. I went a bit “overboard” in one stanza, however, packing it far too full with wine words, so I deleted that stanza as redundant and too contrived.

      With regard to the second poem, I have to confess that there actually is a bit of “satiric mockery” in the early part of the poem, which becomes evident especially in the line, “call forth thick locks and “poof!” they will be there.” I am taking a little jab at the idea that aging is “all in the mind”, and insisting that, no, aging is real, and we must come to terms with the sad but undeniable fact that our bodies do eventually deteriorate and expire with age, and no amount of “positive thinking” can cancel that reality. As the apostle Paul put it, “our outer man is perishing”; the upside of things for the believer, Paul says, is “our inner man is being renewed day by day” (2 Cor. 4:16). To live in denial of the perishing nature of the “outer man” is to look at life through rose-colored glasses instead of coming to terms with the nature of this fallen world as being “in bondage to decay” and cultivating a hope that is grounded in eternal realities that look beyond this mortal life.

      Still, your point is very well taken that our outlook on the aging process does have a significant impact on the quality of life we live here and now. Good rest, good diet, and plenty of exercise make our later years significantly more pleasant and productive, so we ought never to neglect the body. The key to wise living seems to be to find a balance between taking good care of our bodies with a view to getting maximum use out of them while we are here, while at the same time recognizing the far greater importance of what is happening in the “inner man”, taking inventory of whether we are building a hope of “perpetual youth” on the promise of God or on our gym membership.

      Reply

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