welcome readers & writers - it's friday. wa hooooooo!! a big thanks to krowles1981, FilmGuy and Ashley Brandon for writing with me yesterday. i love to read your work.
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so, not only is it friday - its', yes - you guessed it - photog friday! every other day of the week the photo you see on the blog are mine. on fridays the photos are the work of a pro. this week's photo was taken by one of my very best friends, Pauline Palko. Pauline and i have belonged to the same writing group for almost ten years (10 as of february!) Pauline is a published short story writer. she recently returned from a trip to italy, lucky lady! the fascinating photo above is right out of her trip album. thanks for sharing it with us, pauline :)
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writers, what's your take on Pauline's photo? short story, poem or creative non-fiction - send it in by clicking on comments below. here's my fiction spin on it:
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The young priest leads the way outside after our rehearsal. My fiance and I follow, enveloped by our families and our wedding party. Fr. Phillip stops, turns to the group and says, "Those whom God has joined together, let no one put asunder. It's the final pronouncement in the traditional wedding ceremony. Forever, we say. In sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, for richer, for poorer, as long as we both shall live. 'We won't let any of these things tear us apart,' you're saying - 'and we won't let the presence of another person be our undoing either.' Yes?" "Yes," the two of us say, looking into each other's eyes. My fiance takes my hand and laces his fingers through mine.
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"To be that strong," the priest continues, "to have a foundation that solid, to really make a go of this marriage, you've got to hold it together. You've got to have a pact. An intentional, unbreakable bond. Tomorrow you'll make that promise inside, surrounded by those who love you, in the eyes of God. But tonight, here in the setting sun, I ask you to declare your strength, your intention to live in that strength, in a visible, tangible, public way. What do you offer as a symbol of your wedding day promise?"
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I pull our lock from my purse. It's shiny and gold, and I love it. And if you want to know a secret, I bought it long before I met Anton. I bought it as a declaration to myself and the world that I was open to love, and it's been sitting on my mantel - open - ever since. The night of our first date, Anton came to my house to pick me up and saw it on the mantle. He asked me about it, what it was for and why it was there. I knew he was a good man when he didn't run for the hills hearing me talk of marriage before we'd even had dinner.
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We reach out together now and add our lock to the chain of links. It clicks into place like the final piece of a puzzle long in the works. I smile at my sweet and we kiss. It's official. We've cast our lot with so many others. It feels good to know we're not alone; since Fr. Phillip arrived, every couple who marries in this church brings their lock and adds it to the others.
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I believe - deeply believe - that with Fr. Phillip, our family, our faith and our friends on our side, our commitment is strong enough to last a lifetime. Til death do us part. We're going to make it. It may not always be easy, but we'll make it.
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come write with me!
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"To be that strong," the priest continues, "to have a foundation that solid, to really make a go of this marriage, you've got to hold it together. You've got to have a pact. An intentional, unbreakable bond. Tomorrow you'll make that promise inside, surrounded by those who love you, in the eyes of God. But tonight, here in the setting sun, I ask you to declare your strength, your intention to live in that strength, in a visible, tangible, public way. What do you offer as a symbol of your wedding day promise?"
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I pull our lock from my purse. It's shiny and gold, and I love it. And if you want to know a secret, I bought it long before I met Anton. I bought it as a declaration to myself and the world that I was open to love, and it's been sitting on my mantel - open - ever since. The night of our first date, Anton came to my house to pick me up and saw it on the mantle. He asked me about it, what it was for and why it was there. I knew he was a good man when he didn't run for the hills hearing me talk of marriage before we'd even had dinner.
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We reach out together now and add our lock to the chain of links. It clicks into place like the final piece of a puzzle long in the works. I smile at my sweet and we kiss. It's official. We've cast our lot with so many others. It feels good to know we're not alone; since Fr. Phillip arrived, every couple who marries in this church brings their lock and adds it to the others.
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I believe - deeply believe - that with Fr. Phillip, our family, our faith and our friends on our side, our commitment is strong enough to last a lifetime. Til death do us part. We're going to make it. It may not always be easy, but we'll make it.
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come write with me!
Once I watched an episode of the Amazing Race where everyone had to run down long lines of locks and try keys... or was it long lines of keys and try them in a lock, anyway, it took forever. In TV time that is about 15 minutes or so of stress, upset, tears, and general quick edits and long faces.
ReplyDeleteBut for a million dollars?
Now, I would do it just for the chance to travel the world... doing crazy stuff... and having such a unique experience. No one is every going to run that race unless you are on the show. So if I faced that challenge, I am sure I would jump in and have at it.
But I am human.
So, at some point, after say 500 tries and with my hands aching and my back screaming and my fingers blistering... I would get mad or frustrated or crazed. And I wonder if, in that moment, I would question the chase of a million dollars vs my personal pain and anguish. I think so.
Love these!Two very different prose pieces, but both strong and compelling . .. glad I came by.
ReplyDelete