A marriage repeats previous ones,
different, depending on how successful the father was.
If the father made bad decisions,
the son will not be the leader in his marriage.
Everything depends upon these revisions.
The revision feels right. The passive son finds bliss.
The son’s wife resembles the son’s mother
and therefore the marriage is still his.
Instead of focusing on making the decision,
the son focuses on making whatever decision
his wife makes work out—
sometimes there’s a method to passivity and doubt.
The son noticed his cousin’s marriage
was a toned down version of his cousin’s parents’ marriage—
his cousin’s wife was exactly like his cousin’s mother, but gentler,
and the cousin was a gentler version of his quietly successful father.
Both women (the cousin’s wife and mother) have a lot to say.
But the wife you can tune out. You can quietly walk away.