I Do
Today it’s easy to say I do
It spills from the lips
Like the words are running downhill
But what you’re really saying today is I will
To a long list of lofty promises:
To honor and cherish
To love and support
To hold in your heart.
Then rings are exchanged
And it all gets sealed with a kiss
But it only begins with I do.
The rest becomes your life.
Don't let it be an empty platitude,
Frivolous words before the kids and mortgages,
Before you start to bicker and feud,
Before the graying of roots
And the slow slackening of form,
Before the unraveling of all you thought you knew.
I do is not just today
It’s Monday and Sunday
And all the holidays
And in-between days
It’s bringing coffee with two creams
It’s getting dressed in the dark
While your loved one sleeps
It’s random flowers and front row seats
It’s laughing in the rain
When you forget your umbrella
And feeding the geese
Next to a sign that says not to.
I do could be everyday.
It’s entirely up to you.
Have the courage to allow
It to follow you around,
Eavesdrop on your conversations
Sit with your anger and irritations
Invite it to every joyful celebration.
I do is always welcome
I do is always ready
I do is right now
And because now
Belongs to eternity
I do is ever renewed.
But it takes a concerted effort
From both man and wife
It must be tended to
For I do is nothing without the doing
Just as love withers without the loving.
I do is the rest of your life
It isn’t just a promise,
It’s a linked chain of events
And someday hence when age,
Illness and weariness steal in
You’ll marvel at all the things you did
Now that your days together are nearly done
And you’ll ask her if she loves you as much
As she did when you were young, handsome and strong
And she’ll clasp your hand and smile
And whisper once again
I do
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