Here, Near And In Faraway Lands
Words written to celebrate the love of Lavinia and Pipo, read out in the church on their wedding day.
Portugal, Saturday 31st August, 2019.
For Lavinia, the most fabulous She,
and for Pipo, the man forever by her side.
How can it be? There you are and here I am.
My wife to be, ready, holding hands with me.
One glance at you and what memories flash
A centillion twinkling, shimmering truths crash
Our past, present and future lives
flickering within those loving eyes
So many years together, here, near and in far away lands
Standing now with hearts full of dreams, and heads full of plans
Every single moment has led up to this
The good, the bad, the mad and the sad
All that we’ve ever had
Has led up to this!
Were there mistakes?
Were there misjudgements?
One or two,
but they have all led me back to you.
To change any of it would mean to change all of it
and that simply will not do.
It was only when I met you that I understood
That love is not hard work and never should,
not even a little,
not even in the slightest
Because you possess possibly the brightest
of blindingly beautiful souls the world has ever seen.
When I saw this, I saw just what it means,
A look that says all in a blink,
Without a second thought or think,
How can I make your life better in every way,
And then give you more and more each day?
I am here to add to your life in every way I can
And celebrate you every day as my man
And that’s when it happened, something clicked,
the final piece of the puzzle fit
The fortress that had been built so high
Crumbled down before my eyes
Vulnerable to my core, and yet the safest I had ever been
My soul now proudly kneeling down before my Queen
This is me, I said.
This is all I am.
No more to hide, but with so much to confide
No more secrets, but I promise to always surprise
No clue of what the future will hold,
but never so certain of anything in the world.
She was the end of games, and yet the fun had just begun.
She was as wild as could be but I wanted her to be truly free
So every day was the next great adventure
A love expeditionary and beyond censure
There were no limits or bounds,
The world became our playground,
We tiptoed across oceans,
We sailed through skies,
We danced over deserts,
And continued to fly
Sun-soaked days rolled into dream-dazzled nights
Sunfalls to twilights, midnights with moonlight
We may not be perfect souls but perhaps souls perfect for each other
Proven by a life once dull, that now screams in technicolour
With a love that is sense, perspective, logic and caring
Perpetual patience sprinkled with daring
Then rolled in mystery, wrapped in wonder,
Delivered by lightning to a symphony of thunder
For you are not just a partner for sunshine,
shorelines, fine wines and good times
But a partner to pine, a partner in time, a partner forever mine
And yet, there’s not enough time in the world
The bittersweet bite
of a love so infinite in a time so finite.
The only guarantee is now.
Now. Here. With you.
Today marks the end of all that we know
And yet it is only the start of an even greater show.
And so here we stand, arm in arm, hand in hand.
Turning to face our future together
Here, near and in faraway lands.
