One Snicker in the Ceremony

One snicker brought the message out.
The pastor needed no more,
but his passion brought him a royal bouquet which
the bride’s forget-me-nots, jasmines and sweetpeas
could not, beyond an excellent arrangement, portray.
And now many are reminded love’s power takes reflection
that marriage is a serious resolution, bound
if you wish, with silk ribbons which come undone,
or love’s responsibility springing eternal; And that we
inside church and outside, we
beyond resplendent white rose arches and wooden pews
we who walk on concrete and grass more than marble,
we who go with and without tiara’s and epaulettes,
we by choice are the real receptors and transmitters
of that passionate belief in ourselves and others,
and all ceremony, whether in houses of prayer, or
in the open eyes and arms of our beloved,
all ceremony, in every season, brings us
face to face with the unifying energy
all too often identified only as carnal,
the unifying energy that must be fanned
minute by minute, lover to lover,
neighbour to neighbour, friend to friend,
and so on, lest it go out and
leave us cold and alone in darkness
both personal and universal.

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