Poems or readings ideas

[lucybelle]

Tried to make a blog post but that part of the site isn't working for me right now soo..

anyways, I'm trying to come up with a simple, quick and secular ceremony. Thought some poems might be nice. I thought it would be nice to open with either Shel Silverstein's "Where the Sidewalk Ends" or "If you are a dreamer". Then some other stuff blah blah. Then I thought it would be nice instead of vows (because I'm shitty at doing stuff like that) we could each read a poem to each other. I came across a Neruda poem and although I've never been a big fan I thought it was really nice.

Where the sidewalk ends

“There is a place where the sidewalk ends
And before the street begins,
And there the grass grows soft and white,
And there the sun burns crimson bright,
And there the moon-bird rests from his flight
To cool in the peppermint wind.

Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black
And the dark street winds and bends.
Past the pits where the asphalt flowers grow
We shall walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And watch where the chalk-white arrows go
To the place where the sidewalk ends.

Yes we'll walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And we'll go where the chalk-white arrows go,
For the children, they mark, and the children, they know
The place where the sidewalk ends.”


If you are a dreamer

“If you are a dreamer, come in,
If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar,
A hope-er, a pray-er, a magic bean buyer...
If you're a pretender come sit by my fire
For we have some flax-golden tales to spin.
Come in!
Come in!”

Sonnet XVII (of course the original is in Spanish. I could read it in Spanish but not everyone would understand)

"I do not love you as if you were salt-rose, or topaz,
or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off.
I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,
in secret, between the shadow and the soul.

I love you as the plant that never blooms
but carries in itself the light of hidden flowers;
thanks to your love a certain solid fragrance,
risen from the earth, lives darkly in my body.

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where.
I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride;
so I love you because I know no other way

than this: where I does not exist, nor you,
so close that your hand on my chest is my hand,
so close that your eyes close as I fall asleep. "


Thoughts? Ideas? Other poems you can think of? Nothing super lovey dovey. Just can't get into that kind of stuff too much.

[nicole]

I now for definite, we are having this:

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy has this to say on the subject of flying. There is an art, it says, or, rather, a knack to flying. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. Pick a nice day, it suggests, and try it.
“The first part is easy. All it requires is simply the ability to throw yourself forward with all your weight, and the willingness not to mind that it’s going to hurt. That is, it’s going to hurt if you fail to miss the ground.
“Most people fail to miss the ground and if they are really trying properly, the likelihood is that they will fail to miss it fairly hard. Clearly, it is this second part, the missing, which presents the difficulties.
“One problem is that you have to miss the ground accidentally. It’s no good deliberately intending to miss the ground because you won’t. You have to have your attention suddenly distracted by something else when you’re halfway there, so that you are no longer thinking about falling, or about the ground or about how much it’s going to hurt if you fail to miss it.
“It is notoriously difficult to pry your attention away from these three things during the split second you have at your disposal. Hence most people’s failure, and their eventual disillusionment with this exhilarating and spectacular sport.
“If, however, you are lucky enough to have your attention momentarily distracted at the crucial moment by, say, a gorgeous pair of legs (tentacles, pseudopodia, according to phyllum and/or personal inclination) or a bomb going off in your vicinity, or by suddenly spotting an extremely rare species of beetle crawling along a nearby twig, then in your astonishment you will miss the ground completely and remain bobbing just a few inches above it in what might seem to be a slightly foolish manner.
This is a moment for superb and delicate concentration."

from SO's favorite book, I found this and thought it fit! Just need to find 1 more now. I have no clue what I'll find!

I am having a civil ceremony- my registrar send me an "order of service" booklet where I can pick and choose what I want, and there were loads of secular readings in there, I shall dig it out and see if there's any decent ones that might work!

[Michelle]

Readings are something I also have zero clue about so I'll be keeping an eye on this! I know we will likely be doing standard vows (and not writing our own) but Frank's sister mentioned she'd do a reading for us if we liked.

Sonnet XVII is very nice

[Kristin91]

I really liked Sonnet XVII I don't have any ideas for readings... at least I have a while to think about these things!

[nicole]

A few from the registrar book I thought were cute

An Apache Wedding Blessing

All the days of your life may you walk gently
Through the world, and know it's beauty.
Now you will feel no rain,
For each of you will be shelter for the other.
Now you will feel no cold,
For each of you will be warmth to the other.
Now there will be no loneliness,
For each of you will be companion to the other.
Now you are two persons,
But there are three lives before you:
His life, Her life, and your live together.
Go now to your dwelling place,
To enter into the days of your life together.
May beauty surround you both
In the journey ahead and through all the years.
May happiness be your companion
To the place where the river meets the sun,
And may your days together
Be good and long upon this Earth

The art of Marriage

A good Marriage must be created.
In the art of marriage, the little things are the big things.
It is never being to old to hold hands.
It is remembering to say "I love you" at least once a day.
It is never going to sleep angry with each other.
It is having a mutual sense of value and common objectives.
It is standing together, facing the world.
It is forming a circle of love, which gathers in the whole family.
It is speaking words of appreciation and demonstrating gratitude in thoughtful ways.
It is having the capacity to forgive and forget.
It is giving each other an atmosphere in which each can grow.
It is a common search for the good and the beautiful.
It is not only marrying the right partner.
It is being the right partner.

[lucybelle]

Thanks nicole!

My dad used the Apache blessing at his wedding so I can't steal it