Epithalamion for Jim

Today I read a poem by Nick Flynn called “Epithalamion” and was struck by the opening words:

No one —

not the wind in the leaves, not

the  leaves in the sky — can promise

permanence…

I got curious about the title. I am not familiar with the meaning of the word. I learned it was the title of a poem Edmund Spenser wrote for his bride for their wedding day in 1594, and Flynn had written it for the wedding of some friends.

And so I began to write, and it ended up being my epithalamion for Jim.

Easter Sunday, 2015

I like Nick Flynn’s poem today

A poem celebrating a marriage

And these days I think a lot about

marriage

the joy

the necessity

how we build a life together

and want it to stay that way

forever.

How we wish for that, despite all

evidence against it.

We make promises thinking we “know.”

What do we know?

Here is what I know:

Life is better when I can reach out

my hand and know you’ll be there.

6:22 a.m. 3/27/24