My friend Kay married her devoted love Jeff this weekend. A gentle afternoon sun came out to bless what turned out to be a perfect wedding - charming, intimate, and profound. Profound for many reasons, not least of which being that Kay has pancreatic cancer and now in her fourth post-diagnosis year has decided to stop chemo and radiation and live the rest of her life without them, and with Jeff, who has pursued her with convincing clarity for several years now. So her radiance and beauty and very aliveness, standing there smiling next to her equally radiant Prince Charming in front of family and friends - that alone was deeply profound.
There was charm in the lovely garden site with a close-in view of the bay; in the hand-made truffles Sue stayed up all night dusting with luster powder and filling with chai; in the tendrils of green ribbon flying in the breeze and in the bride's laughter and spontaneous wit. Intimacy in the heart-felt vows, the daughters that stood proud and beautiful in their formal roles; in the generosity and community of family and friends that came from near and far to cook and offer their homes and decorate and celebrate and clean up afterward, going home together to put their feet up and talk about how wonderful it was.
And no small dose of the charm and intimacy came from a thoughtful gift given by friends Michael and Karen, who hired Silvi Alcivar to grace us with her red typewriter and poetry on demand. If you don't yet know about Silvi and her magical art, I'm so glad to be the one to tell you...
I'm proud to say I was the one who told Karen and Michael about her, too, after being charmed myself by an article on her in the SF Chronicle.
Needless to say, Silvi was a great hit with the wedding crowd - everyone was lining up for their turn and then passing the results around, amazed and damp-eyed reading the insightful lines she had crafted from our longing.
I ended up asking her for two poems... the first was for Steve and I, who have had a long and winding love journey of our own.
Here it is - first the paper we chose, then the poem she wrote on it:
I think she could have left out the last four words so it would scan better, but they are true, and so I love them even if they don't scan, and I love her for writing them.
Later in the day, after most people had a chance to have a poem written for them, I asked for another one, just for me. I asked that it be about art, and transformation, and beauty.
Here's what she wrote:
|
|
Recent Comments