A Father's Lament

     
            A Father's Lament

    Today a love was consummated
    with promises to honor and love
    and possibly obey, I couldn't say
    exactly what the vows consisted of.

    The reverend droned with relevant
    admonitions for the lovely pair.
    Oh, my little girl,
    my little girl with the golden hair

    Pulled back in a pony-tail,
    shining laughter, knowing no shame
    from missing front teeth - it seems
    memories most vivid appear in a frame.

    "Do you take this woman?"
    Oh, little girl rest your head on my chest
    for a perpetual moment,
    for an infinite caress.

    "Do you take this man?"
    No! My heart jumped with a start
    of desperation. "No," I shouted,
    but my lips betrayed me and failed to part.

    Today a love was consummated.
    Flushed with rapture, the lovely pair,
    with wholesome intent, stood wrapped
    in a legacy of love, unaware.

                                rlkilgore