A vow is both a promise and a sign
That I am sure enough that this is true
To say it publicly, not just to you,
But to all those whose lives we here combine.
And so I vow to love you all my life,
To give you joy, for that is joy to me,
To be for you what I would have you be:
Each a home for each as man and wife.
I vow to give myself to that one self
Engendered by our mystical embrace,
And to nurture it through love and will.
For only thus we cross the inner gulf
That lies between our consciousness and grace,
Blessed by love, that makes good of all ill.
Copyright by Nicholas Gordon. Free for personal or non-commercial use.