Jacqueline
Jules
The
Wonder of Weddings
by Jacqueline Jules
Most of the poems I write tell a story of one kind or another. Sometimes I relate a personal story from my own life or that of someone close to me. Other times, I base a poem on a folk or biblical tale. The stories themselves often serve as metaphor. For me, story is paramount. If a piece of writing doesn’t tell a story, I am not intrigued. There is a reason why cultures from the beginning of time have used stories to impart values and wisdom. They capture attention by giving the audience an opportunity to see themselves inside another’s experience.
I use biblical sources as I did in “Pre-Nuptials” when it fits the subject I have an urge to write about. In “Pre-Nuptials” a woman contemplates her upcoming wedding, worried that she will be absorbed inside the marriage. The biblical legend of Lilith, Adam’s first wife who ran away, symbolizes these anxieties. In “Bride’s Prayer” I make a reference to the miracle of the Maccabees in the Hanukkah story, expressing a bride’s wish for a flame/love that will not fade.
“Chocolate on the Wedding Dress” and “Parents of the Bride” both relate what I experienced as a guest at two different weddings. “The Best Man” is a more personal poem, based on a conversation at a wedding I attended in the place of my deceased son.
These poems have appeared in journals but not in my collections.
Most of the poems I write tell a story of one kind or another. Sometimes I relate a personal story from my own life or that of someone close to me. Other times, I base a poem on a folk or biblical tale. The stories themselves often serve as metaphor. For me, story is paramount. If a piece of writing doesn’t tell a story, I am not intrigued. There is a reason why cultures from the beginning of time have used stories to impart values and wisdom. They capture attention by giving the audience an opportunity to see themselves inside another’s experience.
I use biblical sources as I did in “Pre-Nuptials” when it fits the subject I have an urge to write about. In “Pre-Nuptials” a woman contemplates her upcoming wedding, worried that she will be absorbed inside the marriage. The biblical legend of Lilith, Adam’s first wife who ran away, symbolizes these anxieties. In “Bride’s Prayer” I make a reference to the miracle of the Maccabees in the Hanukkah story, expressing a bride’s wish for a flame/love that will not fade.
“Chocolate on the Wedding Dress” and “Parents of the Bride” both relate what I experienced as a guest at two different weddings. “The Best Man” is a more personal poem, based on a conversation at a wedding I attended in the place of my deceased son.
These poems have appeared in journals but not in my collections.
Bride's Prayer
As we stand
beneath a flowered canopy
to bless
the fruit of the wine
and promise
to drink
from the same cup
forever,
let us pray
for the miracle
of the Maccabees:
a flame that will not fade.
May our life together be
one strong and glowing light
rising towards the Heavens.
As we stand
beneath a flowered canopy
to bless
the fruit of the wine
and promise
to drink
from the same cup
forever,
let us pray
for the miracle
of the Maccabees:
a flame that will not fade.
May our life together be
one strong and glowing light
rising towards the Heavens.
Credit: Jewish
Spectator
Chocolate on the Wedding Dress
The bride is in the bathroom
with the caterer, a cloth, and club soda,
worried that she'll cry and streak her mascara,
matching the smear of chocolate on her dress.
"Almost gone," the caterer soothes
as she scrubs the white satin clean.
Back on the dance floor, no one notices
the faint stain of inevitable imperfection,
except the photographer, who teaches
the bride and groom to fold their hands
over the spot and smile.
Credit: Winner of Arlington Arts Moving Words Contest, 2017
The bride is in the bathroom
with the caterer, a cloth, and club soda,
worried that she'll cry and streak her mascara,
matching the smear of chocolate on her dress.
"Almost gone," the caterer soothes
as she scrubs the white satin clean.
Back on the dance floor, no one notices
the faint stain of inevitable imperfection,
except the photographer, who teaches
the bride and groom to fold their hands
over the spot and smile.
Credit: Winner of Arlington Arts Moving Words Contest, 2017
Prenuptials
Vows exchanged. Papers signed.
Will they bind me back to Adam's rib?
To move from that day on
in synchrony, for fear
of ripping apart the flesh we share.
Eve was a bulge beneath the armpit
whittled when the first wife, Lilith,
ran away. Must I leave the garden,
become a demon,
to preserve the person
who precedes the wedding?
Maybe not. Our Book has been revised.
But the snake still lurks in the garden
and we must choose our fruit with care.
Vows exchanged. Papers signed.
Will they bind me back to Adam's rib?
To move from that day on
in synchrony, for fear
of ripping apart the flesh we share.
Eve was a bulge beneath the armpit
whittled when the first wife, Lilith,
ran away. Must I leave the garden,
become a demon,
to preserve the person
who precedes the wedding?
Maybe not. Our Book has been revised.
But the snake still lurks in the garden
and we must choose our fruit with care.
Credit: Shirim
Poetry Journal
Parents of the Bride
His new wife chats
with her new husband
inside at the reception,
while the bride smiles
outside in the courtyard
flanked by two parents
in love with their daughter,
but not each other.
Pictures preserve pleasantries
unimaginable five years ago,
when every word
between mother and father
crackled like a bonfire.
Bitterness, brown and brittle
as dead leaves, has been
crushed into the ground
like a cigarette butt
for this satin gowned bride
tucked between two smiling parents.
She beams brighter than the
bulb on the camera.
His new wife chats
with her new husband
inside at the reception,
while the bride smiles
outside in the courtyard
flanked by two parents
in love with their daughter,
but not each other.
Pictures preserve pleasantries
unimaginable five years ago,
when every word
between mother and father
crackled like a bonfire.
Bitterness, brown and brittle
as dead leaves, has been
crushed into the ground
like a cigarette butt
for this satin gowned bride
tucked between two smiling parents.
She beams brighter than the
bulb on the camera.
Credit:
Connections
The Best Man
At a ball game two summers ago,
they spotted a double rainbow,
arching over the stadium
and a double base hit
breaking the tie for their team
in the ninth inning.
That’s why, he says,
he’s sure my dead son
still attended his wedding,
still stood nearby as best man,
holding a double ring
of transcendent color
over the city skyline
and every posed picture
of bride and groom.
At a ball game two summers ago,
they spotted a double rainbow,
arching over the stadium
and a double base hit
breaking the tie for their team
in the ninth inning.
That’s why, he says,
he’s sure my dead son
still attended his wedding,
still stood nearby as best man,
holding a double ring
of transcendent color
over the city skyline
and every posed picture
of bride and groom.
Credit:
Broadkill Review
I am the author of Manna in the Morning, a collection of biblically themed poems as well as three other chapbooks including Itzhak Perlman’s Broken String, winner of the Helen Kay Chapbook Prize from Evening Street Press. I have also written two collections for young people, Smoke at the Pentagon: Poems to Remember and Tag Your Dreams: Poems of Play and Persistence. To learn more about me and my work, please visit www.jacquelinejules.com
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