RITUAL

Two parties ceremoniously

commit their lives to each other

while the choir sings hymns

and loved ones sigh

or joyously sob.

Two parties courageously

sacrifice on the altar

a lamb or wild beast

to symbolize 

the old death’s self.

Two parties timidly

repeat the magic words,

then kiss in conformity

to love’s rituals.

But I say beyond vows

and loving gestures,

beyond ritual and rite,

I will love you

beyond tradition

and convention,

for as long 

as beats the rhythm

of time, until this heart

gives itself away

to the ritual

of life’s final silence.

        #

Reviews

[Kaa Na Kalyanasundaram]

I liked this poem.

[Shalini Dinesh]

Very nice poem, this was the way i felt on the day of my wedding, so true to its feeling...