Hide not in hurtful silence,
But speak out in open honesty
So that your hearts may hear
To embrace one another with
Tenderness and care, nurturing
Yourselves and your love.

May you live with quiet grace and
Gentle faith; your home blessed
With wide-flung doors to receive
Family and friends with love and good cheer.

May God bless you both with rooms
That burst with the laughter of children
In happy confusion, so that when your
Home no longer echoes with the sounds
Of childhood, your memories
Will be sweet and comforting.

Above all, at the end of your life's journey
May you both look to one another
And know that you have loved,
Cared, and grown in the
Soft light of God's love. Amen.

-Poem by Carmie Capilli Bennett