I Am Marrying You Because
Wedding Vows
(Literally)

 

Dan Waber and Jennifer Hill were married on Saturday, November 29th, 2008. This is Dan's introductory note:

The vows were basically an alternating list poem with a repeated phrase (also the title). She read all the odd numbered parts, and I read all the even numbered.


 

I am marrying you because
You don't just support my writing, you encourage it.

I am marrying you because
I believe that being more like you would make me the better person I want to be.

I am marrying you because
you carry me piggyback.

I am marrying you because
you made the tater tot hot dish when I had to move quickly in January

I am marrying you because
you don't just have good ideas, you act on them

I am marrying you because
you're my favorite poet

I am marrying you because
you're my favorite imaginator

I am marrying you because
I've been able to make you laugh every single day I've known you. Usually before noon.

I am marrying you because
You honored and loved your mother, and still do.

I am marrying you because
When I hug you just right you make an ooomph sound that melts me.

I am marrying you because
I know we will grow old and play Scrabble together.

I am marrying you because
I love the way your mind works.

I am marrying you because
You make me hot toddies when I'm sick.

I am marrying you because
You take my best ideas and make them better, and make them happen.

I am marrying you because
You know just how to work me out of a prickly hedgehog mood.

I am marrying you because
I can no longer imagine a life without you in every minute of it.

I am marrying you because
We are two bumbling bumblebees in summer, two white moths aflutter in the garden.

I am marrying you because
You have never doubted me.

I am marrying you because
You ice skated like a pro and let me lean on you.

I am marrying you because
You bought ME flowers.

I am marrying you because
I'm looking forward to learning more about you.

I am marrying you because
You're optimistic without being unrealistic. I look forward to what you will find in each day to share with me.

I am marrying you because
You are unapologetic about using butter.

I am marrying you because
You still make me feel like we're the man and woman in Gustav Klimt's "The Kiss".

I am marrying you because
When you hold my hand, I float.

I am marrying you because
I learn something new every day from you, about you, and for you.

I am marrying you because
You drove for 12 hours to see me for only 2.

I am marrying you because
You are the total package.

I am marrying you because
You like my meatloaf.

I am marrying you because
I really only have one thing to give —the rest of my life — and I want you to have it.

I am marrying you because
I promise you can have all the rest of my life.

I am marrying you because
I promise you can have the first and last bite of my every dessert.


 

Go to Light and Dust Anthology of Poetry