Beyond Myself

Because it is a "covenant of two,"
I'm content knowing that--in essence,
My One O one did precisely that in entering...
Not in the presence of kith, but kin.
And as her father, though blissfully proud
Of them both, I was clearly quite beyond myself.
And now exactly--a year later, I cannot help
Reminiscing of a one-blessed day in Manila
When truly for the first time, I found myself
"Beyond myself," because a minute or two, before
My "long-lost" uncle, both a minister and a judge,
Solemnized my union with the future mother of
My children, he pushed me on one corner of
His chamber and whispered in my ear these words:
"Like the love I have for your aunt,
Love this woman to death, or I'll kill you!"
In thirty-four years, I have not--even for one-mere
Minute, forgotten my uncle's forbidding words.
And those words are now my own...
Because of my love for my children.