31.8.08

TRIBUTE TO A SOUL MATE

In this last post about marriage I’d like to pay tribute to my husband, my love and my life long friend, Gerry, by posting the poem I wrote in Hebrew and in English, for our 39th wedding anniversary.

Before I get to the poem itself, I would like to tell you how I went about presenting it to him; for he happened to in Europe and I in Australia on this particular day.
So let’s go back in time:

Here I am buying a card with 3 red roses painted on a white background. I print the poem out in both languages; and mail it all to Europe.
Having done that, I phone Gerry,
I sent you a letter, I say, don’t open it till I asked you to, and leave it next to the phone.
I know very well that he will do as I asked, and he does.

On the day, which happens to be a Sunday, and ready with a beautiful love song on a tape recorder, I phone. I hear Gerry lift the receiver, and with not a word I start the music.
Gerry listens for a minute, and hangs up.
I phone again,
He answers again, and the receiver goes down again.
This is getting too difficult. He will never stay on the phone for long enough to find out what it’s all about!
I phone again.
He lifts the receiver again.
I say – listen and don’t lower the receiver; now, open the envelope, take the two pages out and follow my reading.
The music is playing and I intersperse it with the poem in the appropriate point of reference, in the two languages, as rehearsed.
He follows my reading.
I have finished reading – there is silence on the other end; a long protracted and meaningful silence. Then I hear him say,
I could never give you a wonderful present like this one…
I am happy and relieved. All went well.

Gerry and I two weeks before our wedding

TO YOU MY LOVE

I looked into your eyes
Your heart leaped with love.
I looked unto your smiling face
Its radiance bewitched me.

My hand in yours, with joy,
My heart trembling,
Our first steps together, like infants,
So many moons ago.

Into the ocean of life,
With arrogance of youth, naiveté,
We spread our wings,
We reached to the sky.

Like waves verse calm,
High mountains and deep valleys,
We’ve known the heights of love and passion,
The lows of despair.

Like thunder and lightning verse,
The rising sun on a spring morning,
We drew strength from each other,
We enriched our lives.

Mature and some-what wiser,
We lost the arrogance,
We unmasked naiveté
and Now my love;

There is so much in my heart
I know not how to express
For I am lost for words
Not knowing...

In my hands;
A horse- shoe, driftwood,
Flowers and green twigs,
A nesting bird.

I present them to you, for that,
Which I fail to put into words.
I present them to you,
My love.

 Renate Dec. 1993
Gerry and I last year – after 54 years of marriage
Renate
http://www.promisedland-renate.com/

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

A great story and a beautiful poem, Rina.

The couple in the story still look as radiant today as they did in the photo of 54 years ago!!


love from silkhobby
http://groups.msn.com/AnimalSpirits

Anonymous said...

Hi Silkhobby,
Pleased you liked this post and the poem. it is the last in the series on Marriage. I do hope this series helped and would help people who find marriage difficult.
Love
Rina


Bicurim feast in the kibbutz highschool
Hi Walter and Annette, Thanks for the feedback. Pleased you enjoyed reading it. What happened to the boat, comes in a period after the book ends and maybe a part of the next book...