Marriage

You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore

You shall be together when white wings of death scatter your days

Aye, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God

But let there be spaces in your togetherness

And let the winds of the heavens dance between you

Love one another but make not a bond of love:

Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.

Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup

Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf

Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone

Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music

Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping

For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts

And stand together, yet not too near together:

For the pillars of the temple stand apart

And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow

Khalil Gibran