On the Occasion of My Marriage

—Mendocino, California

    22 May 2004

Before this wedding, prior to my day

of matrimony, I viewed marriage as

a simple piece of cake, a negligee

In disarray, a long life on Alcatraz.

I’d witnessed others walk this path, their legs

like jelly, itchy eyes gooped up with tears;

my own eyes rolled:  I’d’ve rather brewed the dregs

of rue than suffered through such atmospheres.

But now, having stood before the ocean

and the sky, having said “I do” beneath

a chupah, over yellow-petaled blooms— 

now I understand how mere emotions

lift one’s pride, why now I may enwreathe

my bride:  a blessing for this grateful groom.

The Poetry of Relationships, 2008