Hand and Family Crafted

For Temily and Sal

A hand crafted wedding,
where the family and friends all help
where there are no veils
where there is a top hat
where there are bush flowers
where there is a cake made by the groom, decorated by the bride
where hospitality and love are wrapped
around every guest gathered in this forest.

A hand crafted wedding
with a chalked up flourished welcome sign
with hundreds of paper cranes like rainbow bird stars
with a piano outside on the veranda
with home made bunting
with people bringing pots of rice and other foods
with tiny bubble blowers that
send circular rainbows
into the air
with love.

Serenades for the couple
from the piano
from the violin
from the guitar
from the voices raised in song and prayer
from family and friends
under the cranes that become
like rainbow bird stars
for a marriage where
there are no veils
this is the way this marriage begins.

(c) June Perkins