Wedding poem

Over the summer I wrote a poem for a friend's wedding, and was delighted to read it on the day as well. Here it is.

The Ones who Count

What came first:

The matter or the force?

Were we gifted love,

Or did we mistake its source?

Let’s ruminate

Upon the cause

With the ones who count.

If eternal -

Magical, charming - 

Cupid’s Arrow

Lightly disarming,

Then this betrays

A discarding

Of the power of counting.

For is it not the interaction,

The physics of the two?

The mathematical might

Of me times you?

Human orbits

We thought we knew,

Spun a new course.

Cheeky teasing

Or secrets held,

From snoozing to boozing,

These experiences meld.

It’s the chemistry

Between ourselves

That gives it form.

And if borne by numbers,

It can spark anywhere,

It is poised potential

In the time we share.

To love is to wake up,

And to declare

That everyone counts.

Repeated additions,

Of whatever amount,

Give life to love.

They bring it about.

Love can make neighbours kin,

But it is nothing without

The ones who count.