Second Marriage
Everyone knows sequels are usually worse
than the original and second-guessing isn’t
preferable to simply going with your gut.
I’m all for stars being stuck to the top of
the page noting a child’s best efforts, but
why is gold the standard when silver’s so
much prettier? I have loved and lost and
learned that beating oneself up only ends
in a draw. Gladwell says to become an
expert at something it takes 10,000 hours
of practice, but I wonder how many hours
it takes to become just okay at something
you need simply to get by and if one can
just fake it until they break it. I’m still
learning the value of domesticity—how to
maximize dishwasher space and when to
confess to my wife that my soul feels like
it’s been forgotten in the dryer and keeps
tumbling with each new load. Rocky loses
in the first film but wins in the next because
I imagine he vowed he and Adrian will never
throw in the towel and in the process has
learned how to how do his own laundry,
how to separate the light from the dark,
the pain from the stain.
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Daniel Romo is the author of Bum Knees and Grieving Sunsets (FlowerSong Press 2023), Moonlighting as an Avalanche (Tebot Bach 2021), Apologies in Reverse (FutureCycle Press 2019), and other books. His writing and photography can be found in The Los Angeles Review, Yemassee, Hotel Amerika, and elsewhere. He received an MFA from Queens University of Charlotte, and he lives, teaches, and rides his bikes in Long Beach, CA. More at danieljromo.com.
