You asked me to read some poetry about love at your wedding ceremony.   The first surge of love I feel today is the warmth, honor, and pride that comes from the fact that you would ask me to do such readings in celebration of your wedding.   What greater gift could any father ever receive from a child than to be asked to be spokesperson for the greatest spiritual force in life at that beautiful time when the woman he loves is finally wed to him, forever and ever.

When you find someone you can love and who can love you, then love one another.   And, as you love one another, remember this:  Make your love a joyous, freedom-loving adventure.   Let your love be a moving sea    between the shores of your souls.   Sing, dance, and be joyous together, and yet, let each of you have moments alone.  Let there be spaces in your togetherness so that the winds of the heavens dance between you.

Remember, the strings of the lute are together, yet alone as they quiver with the same music.   As the pillars of the temple stand apart, they serve a common goal.   Fill each other’s cup, and yet, allow each to drink at their own choosing.   Give one another of you bread,  while allowing each to season it to their own taste.

Give your hearts to each other, while providing space for each other's heart to be free,  for there is much in life to be loved.   Let your lover's heart be free to answer the call of life.

Stand together, yet not too near each other, for in the garden of life,  the oak tree & the cypress each have air to breathe and a little earth to call their own,  where the sun can reach down & touch them bringing forth the hidden beauty that lies within each one.   Yes, be together, and be yourself.   Be free, and always be together.

Love  has no desire other than to fulfill itself.
But if your love must have desires, let these  be yours:

To melt and be  like a running brook
that sings its melody into the night.

To know the pain of too much tenderness.
To be wounded by your own understanding of love;
And still give from that wound,  willingly and joyfully.

To wake at dawn with a winged heart
and give thanks for another day of loving;

To rest at the noon’s hour and meditate on love’s ecstasy;
To return home at eventide with gratitude;
And then to sleep with a prayer for the beloved in your heart
and a song of praise upon your lips.

Let the beauty we love be what we do.
There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground.

In a simple way I love you.
That’s something I can do.
I’ll make music while you sing your song.
When I can, I’ll join in  and sing along.
I’m filled with love, I care for you
And I understand what you are going through.

In a simple way I love you,
That’s so easy for me to do.
When you reach out to take my hand.
I’ll be there and beside you stand
Because you’ve made a friend of me.
I’ll help you become whomever you shall choose to be.

I hear your voice as it  sings out.
Speak your piece  and  let it go
I’ll give you room to breathe, and space to grow.

In a simple way I love you.
I’m here to see you through.
I’ll make music while you sing your song.
While you do whatever you choose to do.
I’ll stand beside you rain or shine.
Love has many faces, and one of them is mine.

I love you because the Earth turns around the sun;
Because the north wind blows north;
Because winter flows into spring,
And the air clears after a storm;

I love you because only my love for you
despite the charms of gravity
keep me from falling off the Earth
into another dimension.

I love you because
it is the natural order of things.
I am helpless in my love for you.
It makes me so happy to hear you
call my name.

I am amazed you can resist
Locking me in an echo chamber
Where your love reverberates
Through the four walls
Sending me into spasmodic streams of ecstasy. 

I love you because it has been so good for so long.
That if I didn’t love you
I’d have to be born again.
The Angles tell me love is so simple,
And yet, I'm almost pitiful in my love for you.

The very thought of you
Sends incredibly delicious,  multitudinous
thrills throughout and through
my body.  

I love you because no two snow flakes are alike 
and because it is possible, if you stand tippy toes,
to walk between the raindrops. 

I love you because I am afraid of the dark
and can’t sleep in the light.
Because I rub my eyes
when I wake up in the morning
and find you there beside me.
Because you, with all your magic powers,
determined that I should love you.
Because there is nothing else for you
but that I would love you.

I love you because you made me want to love you.
More that I love
My privacy
My freedom
My commitments
And responsibilities.

I love you because I’ve changed my life to love you.
Because you saw me one fateful night
and decided that I would love you.
I love you more than any words can say,
I love you!
Yes, indeed, I do love you!

We are  lovers because of
the love we make,
the love we have, 
and the love  we share.

We are friends because
of the laughs we spend
and the tears we save.

I love being near you
for the thoughts we share
and for the words
we never have  to speak

When we are apart,
I do miss you
because of what we do together,
but, mostly,  I miss you
because of what we are together.

I know that love is  tucking you in 
and kissing you “good night”
no matter how young
or how old you are.

Love is listening,  laughing
and asking questions
no matter how silly
those questions may sound.

Love is commitment to you
responsibility with you
and most of all,
love is fun because love is
you and me together. 

I promise myself to be so strong
that  my peace of mind is infinite in depth,   and ever-present;
To speak only of health, happiness and prosperity
to every person I meet;
And to make all of my friends aware
of those special qualities within them.

I promise myself to look at the sunny side
of everything, everyone, and every situation I encounter;
To look at life with optimism and with positive emotions;
thereby eliciting the infinite power of entire universe
in making my dreams come true. 

I promise myself to think about, take action toward
and expect only the best for myself and for everyone else;
And,  to be just as enthusiastic about the success of others,
as I am about my own success.

I promise to forget past mistakes;
Both my own and of those around me.
As an ever unfolding flower,
I promise myself to press on toward a greater future;
To be sincere, to be genuine;
To wear a cheerful countenance, at all times;
And to smile from my heart with warmth and love.

Promise myself to give so much thought and feeling
to the improvement of my own nature
that you have no time or interest in criticizing others.
To be too wise to worry,    too allowing to anger
and too centered in my Divine nature to fear anything outside of myself.

Promise to seek and share joy as my first priority,
to invite personal growth through the new and unexpected
to be free, to encourage others to be free
and above all,   to be happy. 

May the road rise to meet you,
And the wind be always at your back. 

May the sun shine warm upon your face,
And the rains fall soft upon your fields.

And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of his hand.

May green be the grass you walk upon,
And blue be the skies above you.

May pure be the joys that surround you,
And true be the hearts that love you.

May God be with you, guide you,  and bless you;
So that you see your children's children. 

May you be poor in misfortune,
And rich in blessings.

May you know mainly happiness,
From this day forward.

Now you will feel no storms,
for each of you is shelter for the other,

Now you will feel no cold,
for each of you is warmth to the other,

Now there’s no loneliness,
for each of you is companion to the other,

You are still two persons,
and now there is only one life before you.

Go this day to your dwelling place
and enter into your days together.

May your days be good and long
upon the earth.

Now you will feel no storms,
for each of you will be shelter to the other. 

Now you will feel no cold,
for each of you will be warmth to the other.

Now there is no loneliness,
for each of you is companion to the other,

You are two persons,
but there is one life before you, and one home.

Turn together to look at the road you traveled,
to reach this---the hour of your happiness.
It stretches behind you into the past.

Look to the future that lies ahead.
A long and winding, adventure-filled  road,
whose every turn means discovery,
new hopes, new joys, new laughter,
and a few shared tears.

May happiness be your companion,
May beauty surround you both in the journey ahead;
And through all the years to come.

Go this day to your dwelling place
and enter into your days together.

May your days be good and long
upon the earth.
Your  adventure has just begun!

One night a man had a dream.   He dreamed that he was walking along the beach with the Lord.   Across the sky, flashed scenes from his life.   For each scene, he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand; one belonging to him, and the other to the Lord.

When the last scene of his life flashed before him,  he looked back at the footprints in the sand.   He noticed that many times along the path of his life there was only one set of footprints.   He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times in his life.

This really bothered him, and he questioned the Lord about it, “Lord, you said that once I decided to follow you, you’d walk with me all the way.    But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life, there is only one set of footprints.    I don’t understand why, when I needed you the most, you would leave me.”

 The Lord replied, “My precious child, I love you  and I would never leave you.   During your times of trial and suffering, when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you.”

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
and sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
and that has made all the difference.

Oh the comfort of feeling safe
with a person;
having neither to weigh thoughts,
nor measure words,
but to pour them all out
just as chaff and grain together,
knowing that a faithful hand
will take   and sift them,
keeping what is worth keeping
and with a breath of kindness,
blow the rest away.