Several years ago, a friend invited me to her bridal shower. As we were going around sharing who we were, my friend introduced me as a poet and someone who “always has poetic words that inspire and nourish” her spirit. I was a bit embarrassed being the center of attention as everyone turned toward me. And then they asked if I had any words about marriage that I wanted to share. (No pressure!) I said, “Circle back to me. I’ll write something.” And, as poetry seems to do with me, I surrendered and this is what I wrote on the back of scrap paper and an envelope.
Saying Yes.
Again and Again.
I loved you
long before I ever met you.
Long before I ever knew
the contours
of your face,
before I ever wrapped my arms
around your waist;
before I ever knew
what made you
laugh or cry,
scared or feel alone.
I loved you long before I said
YES.
Yes
to your kisses
and comforting embrace
Yes
to snuggling with you
and making love with you
Yes
to spending the rest of my life
with you.
But what I am discovering lately
is this:
The funny thing about love
is that you have to
keep saying
YES.
Yes
to trash night and
cleaning the bathroom
Yes
to sharing a bank account
and a mortgage
Yes
to long labors
and sleepless nights
Yes
to unexpected losses
and missed opportunities
Yes
to being vulnerable
and choosing to join each other
when we’d rather jump ship.
We have to say yes –
to all of it –
the happy and ecstatic moments
as well as the sad and mournful moments.
We have to keep saying yes
year after year –
and sometimes
minute
by
minute!
We have to choose to say yes,
this moment,
this breath.
So on the day I stand
in front of our family and friends,
I’ll say yes to you –
in that moment,
with that breath,
and all the breaths
I am to have.
Lisa A. McCrohan, © 2010
This is what love is about – the everyday, mundane, ordinariness of our lives. We have to keep saying “yes.” It’s not something we say just once on our wedding day. It’s an everyday-even-if-this-really-bites-and-I’m-angry-and-right kind of YES. It’s a YES to choosing to turn toward each other. It’s choosing to say YES to being vulnerable.
What would it be like to examine your commitment to your dear one? What do you need to say “YES” to right now in this season in your life together?
Blessings,
Oh Lisa, this is just absolutely beautiful!! I want to frame it and read it every day.
awwww, you are too beautiful, Rachel! Love you, Lisa
I hope things are coming along well for you Lisa. Love & Light.
Dani, I so appreciate your thoughts! Yes, things are getting better! Off to the neurologist in a bit here. It’s a slow journey…but already i see it as a gift. More to come. I am so grateful for your “presence,” Dani. Love, Lisa
“After all these years?” But you two look like newly weds! 🙂 Lovely sentiments and fitting poem for the day.
David, LOL! I’ve always been told I look young! THANK YOU! I’m almost 40!
See there, just a young pup. 😉 I’ll always be older than you, so let that be a comfort. haha
You made me crack up!
very touching….
Dear heart, thank you! I look forward to seeing your blog more and reading about your recovery. Have you met Robyn at Through The Healing Lens? Check out my Blog Roll. You two should meet! Love, Lisa
Lisa, Your poem is incredibly beautiful and you and your hubby are adorable.
You mentioned brain injury on facebook and I’m wondering what happened to you. Are you okay?
Brenda, yep, a TBI (traumatic brain injury). Me and a treadmill. I didn’t realize it was on (I was being quite mindless) and I stepped on it, fell on it, got thrown off and hit another treadmill. BUT, as I KNOW YOU will get, it already is a gift. I’m treating it that way. I’m not sure I can put it all into words just yet, but it is a gift. I am mending, in many ways. Love to you, dear Brenda. I’m so grateful for you presence on here!
Isn’t it amazing how different life is when we bring awareness into it? Big hugs to you.
This is beautiful, and so true!
Thank you, Lauren! We haven’t been in touch lately! It’s good to hear from you! I’ve got to go over and check out the latest that’s happening with you, dear mama! Love to you, Lisa
Lisa, this is one of the most romantic things I’ve ever read (and I adore romantic poetry!). You and your beloved family are all a gift to the world as you shine your love for each other out in to the world. God Bless you. Love, Gina
Gina, I’ll have to share some of my other “love poems”…very sultry and sensual…Just haven’t shared them here yet! Thank you for your beautiful words…yes, part of our wedding vows were about letting the love between us flow out into the world. Love to you guys, Lisa
That was absolutely beautiful, Lisa. I love your poem. Thank you for sharing it with us. I am sure your friend for whom you initially wrote it was very touched… and now you have touched a host of WordPress readers, too. Bless you! I hope you find your way clear to write that kind of poetry again in the not to distant future. It is in you!
Jan, yes, you are so right on…poetry is in me. I actually have a few hundred poems I’ve already written through the years! It’s just sharing them…little by little when I feel the movement. Thank you, Jan, for your encouragement! It really means so much. As you know, it can take a lot to share from such a tender place. Ultimately, Jan, that’s what my writing is to be about — sharing my poetry. That’s always been the movement within me. Your comment encourages me to do it more and more. Blessings, Lisa
I love this poem, Lisa 🙂 Very well written and quite relevant for me, so thank you! <3
Eline, I have been seeing your posts on my email inbox…beautiful titles that draw me in! I must sit and read them soon. I am holding two little ones who have been sick for the last week (major throw up…and the other end, too!). Your works are beautiful, dear Eline. Beautiful. Love, Lisa
Lisa, what an exquisite poem, which really gets at the heart of radical allowing in the most sacred of human relationships. What a wonderful reminder of what it really means to say “yes”– not just to one’s partner in life, but to, in turn, the best potential within one’s self, which is often encased in protective fears, aversions and graspings. Beautiful. And, I hope you are recovering from your injury!!
Awww, Thank you, Angela! You name that so beautifully: saying yes to the best potential within our own selves… And yes, it sure is often encased in fear and the waves of aversion and grasping. I find this to be true for my own self. Your words this morning are informing my practice for the day — saying “YES” to my own self and my potential.
I am recouping really well! It’s going to take some time but the brain/body are amaaazing in how they heal. The whole experience has been a gift for me and my family.