The marriage vow

the rough silk cut her flesh..
how could such rich material hurt one so bad?
she wore it despite the pain across her chest..
the skin on her arms crawled off her bones..

"How do I look?" she asked apprehensively.
"You look alright." he said with an air of dismissal.
he was no longer interested in what she was clad in..
but to her, it was wearing her heart on the line..

"I thought you like me wearing clothes like this." she whimpered quietly.
"I already said you look alright." he replied on the defensive.
her eyes fixated on the ground, she walked back to her room.
his eyes returned to the soccer match on the television.

tearing the material off her back..
she fought back hot angry tears..
she recalled the last time he said something nice to her..
that was before their marriage several months ago..

the roses and candlelit dinners were gone..
hostile remarks replaced sweet loving words..
the promise of unconditionality turned into easy frustration..
she cried once more, wondering what she had gotten herself into..