Wedding Vows Poem by Jim Yerman

He had worked hard on his wedding vows but when it came to their wedding day as he gazed into her eyes…he put the words he prepared away.

"Since the moment you said yes you'd marry me, " he said, "I have been looking forward to this day…and I have searched within my mind to find the right words to say."

"But it just occurred to me…my mind is the wrong place to find the words I have been seeking…so I decided just this moment, to let my heart do all my speaking."

"I have always been enamored by the magic…the thrill…the reverie…the unexplainable vastness and mystery that is my memory."

"From my parents I've inherited the color of my hair, my eyes, my skin…but it's also the place, from their love and understanding…where my memories begin."

"If I follow this river of my memories back through it's ever-winding course…continue paddling upstream until I reach its source…

on my parent's shore I would land…and I'd feel joy…I'd feel blessed…
to come face to face with the one memory that gave birth to all the rest."

"Since that moment…floating down this river, I've felt a combination of amazement and respect…seeing the people who've entered my life…and where our memories intersect."

"As I've watched people fall in love…get married…I wondered if it would ever happen to me…or if it was just a myth…I wondered if I would ever find a person to share my memories with."

After floating alone for so long I am overjoyed knowing that, today, my solo journey is through…knowing I'll be sharing the rest of my life…the rest of my memories with you."

And today I am blessed to stand here with my parents watching as I marry my best friend…standing between the people where my memories began…
and the person with whom my memories will end.