A Marriage Vow

I will appear to you in many forms.
You will not always recognise me.
You will not always understand
Why I appear as I do.

Lonely child in the playground,
Young soldier bleeding on the battlefield,
Cancer patient letting go of form,

Grieving husband not knowing what to do with yourself.

Believer, disbeliever,
Not a single one of you will be abandoned.
You all came from me and will return to me.
I am your home away from home.

I will take you in sickness and in health,
I want you as you are,
For better or worse,
For richer or poorer,
Just as you are.

And when everybody else has fled,
And when they have turned their heads in shame,
I will hold your hand.
I am not afraid of ridicule.
You are my beloved progeny.

And when the fires come,
I will show you how to die.

All I ask
Is that you stop pretending
That you ever knew a damn thing.

The wedding bells are ringing.