Then You, My Love

I re-post this poem for Miriam on our 35th anniversary today. It originally appeared on Gentle Reformation on our 3oth anniversary. I hold to the sentiments expressed even more today.

If love must be awakened
    Then you, My Love,
Stirred mine the day
I first set eyes upon you.
An ardor unceasing,
Unrelenting,
Never to be quiet again.

If love is a banner to be raised
    Then you, My Love,
Have me waving ours gladly,
Shouting from the peaks,
Telling the whole world
Simply
You are the one
Whom my soul loves.

If love is better than wine
    Then you, My Love,
Are fresher than a rosé,
More elegant than a Bordeaux,
Smoother than Chardonnay.
How delightful you are!

If many waters cannot quench love
    Then you, My Love,
Can be assured that
Rivers of tears
Or trials that may flood us
May sweep all away,
But they will never conquer
This passion for you.

If love no greater is a life laid down
    Then for you, My Love,
I am
An offering pledged,
Willingly, solely
Vowed unto you.
To love until death,
To die loving you,
To cherish you until
The only enemy able
To end these anniversaries
Makes us part.

Yet, O yet,
Remember this, My Love.

If love is stronger than death
And it is, My Love, it is.
    Then you, My Love,
Need to know our foe’s reminders:
The scars you bear,
The wrinkles you see,
The weariness you feel,
Fears of love’s demise,
Only cause me
To cherish you
And each day
We spend together
All the more.
And spur me on
As these years roll by
To tell you again and again
Of the One who became
Love stronger than death.
And, yes, He delights in many,
But how I know –
For my soul knows it well -
He looks with adoring eye
Upon you and says, “There is
    Then you, My Love.”