"Cozy Apologia" is a poem by American former US Poet laureate Rita Dove. It was first published in 2004 and is dedicated to her husband, Fred Viebhan.
Dove uses the poem to explore the world-building that happens hidden inside the mundanity of a loving relationship. The speaker reminisces with nostalgia and amusement about the relationships of her youth and has a brief fantasy where her current significant other is a brave knight. However, the speaker shakes away these fantasies and memories and describes her home, where the object of her affection is also working, and the great comfort that their presence brings to the speaker. The speaker marvels at how plain and ordinary the scene is, expressing some embarrassment but mostly radiating contentment. This poem, after all, is an apologia—a defense—of the cozy habits of lovers who have been together for a long time and have grown accustomed to one another.
