Good Poems To Read At Weddings

It's my19th anniversary of being married to the love of my life today, so it seemed like a good time to post about this!

It's easy to find old poems that are great to read at weddings. We did Shakespeare's Sonnet 116, which has got to be one of the most popular choices. Barrett Browning's Sonnet 43 must be right up there, too. This untitled poem by Christina Rossetti is great, and her brother wrote this one that would be perfect for couples who think they've been together in previous lives. Anne Bradstreet's "To My Dear and Loving Husband" is really popular, and Emerson's "Give All To Love" seems ideal for the big day, too.

It's harder to find contemporary poems that are both happy enough and family-friendly enough for a wedding. I love this one by Pablo Neruda. "Lovers" might make a guest or two squirm, but honestly, it's less sexy than a lot of Neruda's stuff.

Two happy lovers make one bread,

a single moon-drop in the grass.

Walking, they cast two shadows that flow together;

waking, they leave one sun empty in their bed.

Of all possible truths, they chose the day;

they held it, not with ropes but with an aroma.

They did not shred the peace; they did not shatter words;

their happiness is a transparent tower.

The air and wine accompany the lovers.

The night delights them with its joyous petals.

They have a right to all the carnations.

Two happy lovers, without an ending, with no death,

they are born, they die, many times while they live:

they have the eternal life of the Natural.

Friends of ours chose this one from W.S. Merwin, which obviously would be especially good for a spring wedding, and would be appropriate for a second wedding too. Merwin, in fact, wrote it for his third wife, Paula.

Late Spring

Coming into the high room again after years

after oceans and shadows of hills and the sounds

after losses and feet on stairs

after looking and mistakes and forgetting

turning there thinking to find

no one except those I knew

finally I saw you 

sitting in white

already waiting

you of whom I had heard

with my own ears since the beginning

for whom more than once

I have opened the door

believing you were not far

Maybe you've got other suggestions. And Robert Hass and Stephen Mitchell put together a ton of possibilities in this anthology Into the Garden, if you're interested!