EAST MEETS WEST

My recent visit to Northern Ireland was primarily to attend the wedding of my nephew, Simon, to the lovely Kimiko.
The happy couple live in London but for their wedding they chose the magnificent setting of Old Court Chapel on the shores of Strangford Lough.
The glamorous event was attended by a truly international array of guests from countries as diverse as Japan, Russia, Canada and Israel. 

I was asked to write a poem for the newly-weds, to be read at the ceremony, and since the request came from my sister I had no choice but to comply. 
The result can be found below.
It's worth noting that in Japan, the crane is associated with longevity, immortality and prosperity and, because of their permanent pair bonds, cranes are often featured on bridal kimonos. Sweet cakes to be served at Japanese weddings are often baked in the shape of cranes for good luck.

WEDDING POEM
(For Kimiko and Simon)

In nations far apart you grew
in innocent obscurity,
not knowing what awaited you
when you attained maturity.
Perhaps you were destined to meet
to make the incomplete complete.

A crane is flying east to west,
its languid wings like soft brush strokes:
a messenger; may you be blessed
by fortune that this sign invokes.                             
May life be sweet, may time be kind
and your horizons unconfined.

May each hour be suffused with joys,
with laughter ringing through each day
as though, like children with new toys
your world were cloudless, life was play,
that, somehow, hopes and dreams might fly
like swallows there. No rules apply

except these few: to always give,
with loving hearts, more than you take;
never condemn, instead forgive
a lapse of love or small mistake.
Love forms the mortar, love alone,
that binds a marriage, stone to stone.

This love of yours that you hold dear,
this love you share, without disguise,
without evasion, doubt or fear,
is mirrored in each others eyes,
so greet the future, hand in hand,
the world awaits, yours to command.

A crane is flying west to east.
We watch its progress as we pray,
may all your treasures be increased,
may every blessing come your way,
may your twin spirits intertwine
in marriage when two souls combine.