Steel-Toed Boots and Boxes

I knew she was out there somewhere

but didn't think I'd find her

in steel-toed boots and

surrounded by boxes

she gave me hope for a better life

a fuller one

I was so scared to fall in love again

but we fell together

holding hands

my heart whispered to me

softly

"we can breathe now"

and it amazed us

her eyes?

home

her smile?

home

her giggles?

her heartbeat?

her kisses?

home

who would have known

love can feel safe

and warm

like a blanket in a storm

something I can be so sure of

and still surprised by

in the best of ways

we chose a day in spring

and my bowtie

matched her dress

I thought "I love you"

was my favorite thing

to hear in her voice

but that day

it was "I do"

(and I said

"I do" too)

perfect despite

its imperfections

I got married to

my very favorite person

after all

and each moment with her

is one well lived

and long awaited for

so

it's okay my father didn't come

he doesn't understand

nor does he want to

anymore

if he ever did at all

and I know

he wouldn't quite

have fit there

anyways

but there's a part of me

that still wanted him to

I suppose there's

plenty still to want

but that day I was walking

through a rose garden

with my bride--

she looked so

absolutely stunning

in her wedding dress!

--and truly at the end

of every day

there's not one single thing

I wish for more

than to grow old with her

and spend forever after

by her side

two weeks  after

we said our vows

I asked the moon

for harmony

and I think

she must have heard me

because the next day

I saw my wife

and my grandfather

laughing together

for the first time

in my grandparents'

living room

I thought it might hurt

to be there now

that my grandmother

has passed on

and it's not to say her absence

went unnoticed

(because how could it

with the way

we miss her so?)

just that the gentle way

we are interwoven

into each other's lives

brings me peace

and even more so:

the fact that

we want to be

I am grateful

for my loved ones

who love me

loudly

I am grateful

for my family

and for my wife's family

and that hers is mine

and mine is hers

I am grateful

for those who love us

proudly

for whispering sunsets

rose gardens

and sharing kisses

with my beautiful wife

in the rain

how lucky I am

to have met her

loved and healed

and built this life

with her

which makes me grateful

for steel-toed boots

and boxes

most of all