When the Lilies Bloom

In the garden, the white lilies blossom.
They say they’re meant for Easter, but
on your day, they bloom. The honey 
streak from the center meets 
the bee upon its tip 
making us wish 
this 
is of what forever will consist.

May you become one another’s comfort
like sitting on a bench as you watch
the moment when the sun meets 
the fields of grass that appear as 
wheat.  For some loves, 
the journey is a sprint without any 
view of the end, while for others it
becomes a leap. But there are times 
when it is a slow walk on a trail
past woodland ferns into a world
of waterfalls where, at the bottom,
tan rocks touch your toes.

May you always possess passion for 
this is the breath, which reminds 
us, we  live. May your hearts gain
the ability to hear when the other
finds the world too loud. With time,
you’ll learn all the sounds.

I wish I could write of love
that everyday is when the lilies bloom, 
and its yellow streaks reminds us 
of honeysuckles at dawn in June 
when the hummingbirds 
begin to greet the warmth of 
Earth. We, who have loved,
all wish this of love, and for 
those who love long after us.

May you become one another’s shoulder, 
and be unafraid to wear a tear stained 
shirt when you lay your head upon the
other. Care less if mascara stains the cheek
for in the dark sometimes is where two
hearts will meet. It’s not always lilies
when the rain pours, and you cannot 
see the lines in the road, or the nearest
 bridge to keep you unexposed. 

There will come times when the world 
will throw at you more than you can 
take. Without losing your love, 
your heart may break, and 
you may change, and never be as you were
before, but in that moment is when
you find neither of you will forsake 
the pledge you made on a summer’s day.

My dear ones, it is a great gift to love, give, 
know, and receive it. All the world’s
commentary and judgments will pass,
and to those who judge, I say, “Go dance in the rain,” 
and laugh as though you’ll never laugh again, 
and live as if you’ll drink coffee at midnight. 

Love each other always as if the lilies 
will bloom for you everyday.


Photo and poem by R.A. Bridges
Written for my cousin on the weekend of her wedding, and for my parents on their 40th wedding anniversary.