Expressing Your Love – vol. 13

To be honest, I’ve never equated weddings and Walt Whitman together. However, an excerpt from Song of the Open Road can resonate with a couple and their values. The poem embraces freedom and exploration. Again, not always words that one thinks of when a couple. But there is a freedom of being oneself in a relationship and letting your partner see the real you. He also urges us to move forward, embrace change, and let the journey shape us. We are not living if we are anchored in one place and not continuing to grow into the best version of ourselves. Another poignant reminder in this poem is for companionship. We are made to be in community with one another, to watch over and care for one another. If freedom, exploration, and companionship are core values for you as a couple, I encourage you to incorporate this reading into your ceremony.

I do not offer the old smooth prizes,
But offer rough new prizes.
These are the days that must happen to you:
You shall not heap up what is called riches,
You shall scatter with lavish hand all that you earn or achieve.
However sweet the laid-up stores,
However convenient the dwellings,
You shall not remain there.
However sheltered the port,
And however calm the waters,
You shall not anchor there.
However welcome the hospitality that welcomes you
You are permitted to receive it but a little while.
Afoot and lighthearted, take to the open road,
Healthy, free, the world before you,
The long brown path before you, leading wherever you choose.
Say only to one another:
Camerado, I give you my hand!
I give you my love, more precious than money,
I give you myself before preaching or law:
Will you give me yourself?
Will you come travel with me?
Shall we stick together as long as we shall live?