The Wedding

The invited had gone
into the evening
with hearts open

as robin’s mouths.
You don’t need to understand
the future to pursue it. See how

a forest keeps
its familiar
shape, even leafless,

and the bonfire at the rehearsal
dinner rose
to the height of the house.

I had a lover, but he couldn’t
come, so I danced
with the photographer

who claimed he could
predict what pairs
would stay together

from what he took.
I knew that was a line
but why not let

his hands find
my waist? I posed
the question

anybody would ask
with a lens in the face—
Will I last?