I Do

I seek the perfect expression of our wedding

To write words no poet ever dreamt of writing

To describe purity beyond saints and virginity

To portray timelessness beyond all eternity

But the words to my pen are too slow in coming

The challenge is much too difficult and daunting

I'm discovering there isn't any earthly expression

That can equal the depth of my love and affection

I do know that tonight when I'm dancing with you

There will now be on raptured heart instead of two

There will now be two prancing feet instead of four

There will now be one united spirit forever more

Your boundless beauty chased away my loneliness

As our new life blossomed like magic between us

Like a door opened to the land of Oz by Dorothy

Black and white transformed into color suddenly

We were always different than others, you and me

That uniqueness is our bond, our eternal unity

That is why I am composing this poem for you

To define our marriage in ways different and new

Though we spoke vows during our ceremony today

They were the vows of religion, the vows of society

Vows often spoken and often treated as casual

Words of posturing, pretension, and pious ritual

Our spirits want something deeper and more devout

Something born from within and not from without

Something more complete and enduring eternally

Something that is truly heartfelt and chosen freely

With this poem I restate my vows in our own terms

New vows as loving gifts for which your heart yearns

Gifts that contain no material or social measure

That will craft our marriage into a jewel to treasure

I vow to bestow upon you the gift of Acceptance

I will cherish you without condition or reluctance

My heart will embrace every little thing about you

While I help every dream of yours become true

I vow to bestow upon you the gift of Understanding

To see you in the special way you want me seeing

To hear you as you want to be heard sincerely

To reflect like a mirror your soul's inner beauty

I vow to bestow upon you the gift of Forgiveness

Your imperfections are but trivia for me to dismiss

Your human frailties are my cross to gladly carry

Tomorrow's mistakes I have forgiven already

I vow to bestow upon you the gift of Nurturing

The seeds of all your hopes I will be watering

The sprouts of your aspirations I will be cultivating

The peace you deserve I will commit to enabling

But alas, as poems go this one can't reach perfection

Because the perfect wedding poem was already written

It contains two simple words and three simple letters

Saying in just two syllables everything that matters

It is the shortest of all poems by the humblest poet

The smallest words yet the most profound statement

My most sincere vow is my undying love for you

And the poem's two simple words say it best:  "I do".