hold fast to me and we will be one flesh
and set a precious orbit round this vow
of jewels and thorns we’ve yet to know or seek
and roads to where His wondrous grace allows

concessions for another’s sake, and love
that’s tender in the face of pain or strife
bolstering the ribs we share like beams
that frame a strong and sweeter sunlit life

commit with me to prize and tend our core
it’s halves, a flawed and hopeful pair of souls
replacing corners meant to trap or cut
with curves that mend and eagerly restore

and in this starry sweep of early pledge
with moonless nights still hard to be conceived
let us seal ourselves to him in truth
to guide us in tomorrow’s joys and griefs

and many waters will not drown this day
or break what binds beneath His holy sight
for we will be the partners of our youth
and spur each other onward towards the light

Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. Genesis 2:24

images: Wed, painting by Ben Keys, and Newlyweds Ted & Erin Becker xo