Welcome to the February 2016 Poem of the Month!
I had the opportunity to attend the wedding of two of my dear friends back in December, and was honored when they asked me if I would read a poem during the ceremony. I set about in earnest searching for a poem worthy of such an occasion, and I read a LOT of wedding poems. Some were sweet, some were joyful, some sounded like they belonged in a Hallmark card. I thought about my own wedding and remembered how the day and the ceremony just seemed to fly by. Someone that day gave us a piece of advice that I have retold to several friends on their wedding days. They told us that we should find a quiet corner during the celebration, stop for a minute, look around all of our family and friends gathered to celebrate us, and just take in the enormity of that special moment. I remembered that moment as I read this selection by Jane Hirshfield, and I thought it just felt like the right poem to celebrate the special day, the special moments, and the wishes for a joyous future for two of my dear friends.
Jane Hirshfield
(1953 – )
A Blessing for Wedding
Today when persimmons ripen
Today when fox-kits come out of their den into snow
Today when the spotted egg releases its wren song
Today when the maple sets down its red leaves
Today when windows keep their promise to open
Today when fire keeps its promise to warm
Today when someone you love has died
or someone you never met has died
Today when someone you love has been born
or someone you will not meet has been born
Today when rain leaps to the waiting of roots in their dryness
Today when starlight bends to the roofs of the hungry and tired
Today when someone sits long inside his last sorrow
Today when someone steps into the heat of her first embrace
Today, let this light bless you
With these friends let it bless you
With snow-scent and lavender bless you
Let the vow of this day keep itself wildly and wholly
Spoken and silent, surprise you inside your ears
Sleeping and waking, unfold itself inside your eyes
Let its fierceness and tenderness hold you
Let its vastness be undisguised in all your days
