• Fingers--dancing, trailing the bow,
    Eyes sparkling brightly, a luminous glow.
    Comb your hair back, slick it with gel;
    Nod excitedly when asked if you’re well.
    Adjust your tux, smooth out your slacks,
    Impatience radiating, time for the pacts.

    Feel like royalty, a princess in white;
    Cascading pools of silk in all sight.
    Hidden behind the cosmetic addiction,
    Behind the veil, behind the conviction.
    Fluff up your hair, glance at your dad,
    Smile enthusiastically, so he knows that you're glad.

    Foot to foot, you bounce back and forth,
    Nearly toppling over when your best man points you north.
    You scowl at him briefly, but the threat is halted,
    As your eyes catch sight of her--and then, you’re exalted.
    Dimly, it occurs to you that no, this second is not extended,
    But if you could, would you have wished it never ended?

    Left, then right, you subconsciously keep in mind,
    So that you don’t fall in those stilettos, the painful ones your favorite company designed.
    Tightly grasped in your hands, the bouquet pricks your fingers;
    The roses never had their thorns removed, but you barely register the pain that lingers.
    Your gaze, glued to him, through the fishnet pattern of your veil,
    Brings a wave of uncertainty, one you try hard to quell.

    Monotonous, the priest was; “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today,
    To join this man and this woman for always and a day.
    Do you, take--” gesture-- “to be your spouse, to live in holy matrimony, for as long as you both shall live?”
    “I do,” you respond resolutely, and you abruptly add, “the world shall I give.”
    “Then you may now seal the vow with a kiss.”
    And you smile, and you close in, and you feel nothing but bliss.

    Ding, chimed the bell, as they depart, hand in hand,
    Amidst a shower of rice and flowers that litter the land.
    Up, goes the bouquet, and the witnesses reach out,
    Grasping at the roses, planting that final seed of doubt.
    Laughter, ever jovial, rings through the Hall,
    And the bell is drowned out, despite its desperate call.

    What started with laughter, ended with tears.
    What began with beliefs, ceased with fears.
    This time the bell tolled, and it was yet again disregarded,
    As a lawyer stood in court, with the spouse that he guarded;
    “The Mrs. had an affair with the Mr.’s best man and best friend.”
    What began with little children, ended in a trend.