Chi & Jesse Are Getting Married

Many have asked about the poems we read each other for our vows. Here they are:

From Chi to Jesse:

“Your Laughter”

Take bread away from me, if you wish,
take air away, but
do not take from me your laughter.

Do not take away the rose,
the lance flower that you pluck,
the water that suddenly
bursts forth in joy,
the sudden wave
of silver born in you.

My struggle is harsh and I come back
with eyes tired
at times from having seen
the unchanging earth,
but when your laughter enters
it rises to the sky seeking me
and it opens for me all
the doors of life.

My love, in the darkest
hour your laughter
opens, and if suddenly
you see my blood staining
the stones of the street,
laugh, because your laughter
will be for my hands
like a fresh sword.

Next to the sea in the autumn,
your laughter must raise
its foamy cascade,
and in the spring, love,
I want your laughter like
the flower I was waiting for,
the blue flower, the rose
of my echoing country.

Laugh at the night,
at the day, at the moon,
laugh at the twisted
streets of the island,
laugh at this clumsy
boy who loves you,
but when I open
my eyes and close them,
when my steps go,
when my steps return,
deny me bread, air,
light, spring,
but never your laughter
for I would die.

- Pablo Neruda

From Jesse to Chi:

“As Once the Winged Energy of Delight”

As once the winged energy of delight
carried you over childhood’s dark abysses,
now beyond your own life build the great
arch of unimagined bridges.

Wonders happen if we can succeed
in passing through the harshest danger;
but only in a bright and purely granted
achievement can we realize the wonder.

To work with Things in the indescribable
relationship is not too hard for us;
the pattern grows more intricate and subtle,
and being swept along is not enough.

Take your practiced powers and stretch them out
until they span the chasm between two
contradictions… For the god
wants to know himself in you.

- Rainer Maria Rilke

Here are the songs we played throughout our wedding day last Saturday.

Ceremony Intro
Cat Power, “Sea of Love”

Ceremony Outro
George Harrison, “If Not for You”

Schooner Tunes
Roxy Music, “More Than This”
Spiritualized, “Stay With Me”
Bread, “Baby I’m a Want You”
The Paris Sisters, “I Love How You Love Me”
Mazzy Star, “Give You My Lovin’”
Julie London, “I’m in the Mood for Love”
Astrud Gilberto, “Felicidade”
Chet Baker, “Like Someone in Love”
Karen Dalton, “When a Man Loves a Woman”
Patsy Cline, “Hungry for Love”
Nina Simone, “I Want a Little Sugar in My Bowl”
Inara George, “Fools in Love”
The Magnetic Fields, “Nothing Matters When We’re Dancing”
Caetano Veloso, “Love Me Tender”
Jose Gonzalez, “Hearbeats”
Jefferson Airplane, “Today”
Townes Van Zandt, “If I Needed You”
Mimi and Richard Farina, “Pack Up Your Sorrows”
Cat Power, “Love and Communication”
Bill Callahan, “Sycamore”
Billie Holiday, “Everything I Have Is Yours”
Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong, “Autumn in New York”
Dinah Washington, “What a Difference a Day Makes”
The Beach Boys, “God Only Knows”
Otis Redding, “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long”
Pete Ham, “Makes Me Feel Good”
Delroy Wilson, “Dancing Mood”

Dinner Tunes
Super Furry Animals, “Hello Sunshine”
Super Eagles, “Love’s a Real Thing”
Teenage Fanclub, “Guiding Star”
Chris Bell, “There Was a Light”
The Ethiopians, “Come On Now”
Susan Cadogan, “Love Me Baby”
Belle & Sebastian, “Like Dylan in the Movies”
Paul Simon, “Rene and Georgette Magritte With Their Dog After the War”
Sparklehorse, “Gold Day”
The Flaming Lips, “What Is the Light?”
The Beatles, “Across the Universe”
Sir Douglas Quintet, “I Don’t Want”
Roberta Flack, “Feel Like Makin’ Love”
Alton Ellis, “La La Means I Love You”
Harry Nilsson, “Me and My Arrow”
Wilson Pickett, “In the Midnight Hour”
Laura Nyro, “Blowing Away”
The Miracles, “You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me”
Nina Simone, “Do I Move You”
Dolly Parton & Kenny Rogers, “Islands in the Stream”
Stevie Wonder, “My Cherie Amour”
The Beach Boys, “Wild Honey”
Cat Power, “Lived in Bars”
Lou Reed, “Perfect Day”
Townes Van Zandt, “To Live Is To Fly”
Emmylou Harris, “Together Again”
Bill Callahan, “Diamond Dancer”
Arthur Russell, “That’s Us/Wild Combination”
Rufus Wainwright, “One Man Guy”
George Harrison, “What Is Life”
Van Morrison, “Sweet Thing”
Neil Young, “When You Dance, I Can Really Love”
The Ronettes, “Be My Baby”
Marvin Gaye, “Got To Give It Up”
The Abyssinians, “Satta Massagana”
Otis Redding, “You Don’t Miss Your Water”
Patti Smith, “Dancing Barefoot”
Bruce Springsteen, “Dancing in the Dark”
Brian Eno, “Burning Airlines Give You So Much More”
Roxy Music, “Love Is the Drug”
Sinead O’Connor, “I Want Your (Hands on Me)”
Fleetwood Mac, “You Make Loving Fun”
The Only Ones, “The Whole of the Law”
Hercules and Love Affair, “This Is My Love”
Wire, “Outdoor Miner”
Talking Heads, “This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)”
The Knife, “Heartbeats”
Twin Shadow, “Castles in the Snow”
David Bowie with Queen, “Under Pressure”
The Vaselines, “Son of a Gun”
Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians, “So You Think You’re in Love”