24 June 24 2017
Love Like Waterfall
We stood on the the shore of Lake Erie, just as we had many times in the past. From the waves rolling onto its sandy beaches, to the dunes lining those shores, to the wildlife found along the the shore and on the marshes within the park, to its wonderful lighthouse, Presque Isle State Park in Erie Pennsylvania has much to offer and has become one of our favorite places to visit. We always make it a priority to stop there when we drive from Missouri to Buffalo to see family and friends.
But this visit was different. Family and friends from Erie, Cleveland, Youngstown, and Buffalo (and even Tennessee and Washington state) were there to share in the beauty of the moment as we stood beneath the towering Presque Isle lighthouse to exchange our wedding vows.
Pennsylvania is one of the few states to allow self-administered weddings. Because Presque Isle has come to mean so much to us, it seemed only natural for us to have our wedding there. I wrote poetic verse that was read by my children and my granddaughter, and I also wrote the vows that we exchanged. It was the perfect setting for our new beginning.
under clear blue skies
waves in the sunlight sparkle
love like waterfall
This haibun is my response to Happy New Year! This prompt from Lillian at dVerse ~ Poets Pub is to write a traditional haibun about a new beginning we’ve experienced in our lifetime. The haiku within the haibun is to include a kigo (a word associated with a season – here, waterfall for summer) and a kireji or cutting word at the end of the second line. This word (in English haiku, it can even be simple punctuation, such as a dash, comma, ellipsis, or an exclamation point) briefly cuts the stream of thought, indicating that the verse consists of two thoughts half independent of each other. In my haibun, sparkle serves as the haiku’s kireji.
rivrvlogr 
Perfect story and a perfect haiku to put an end to the first chapter.
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Thank you, Jane. It was a perfect day.
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🙂
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LOVE everything about this write! Most especially the last line of the haiku. Thank you for sharing! This made me smile.
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Thank you, Lillian. And thank you for the prompt.
That line seemed like a natural, like an outpouring of love that seems like a source of light, in itself.
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A beautiful story of love and new beginnings. May 2021 bring you all good things!
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Thank you, Beverly. 😀
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A beautiful story of love and new beginnings. May 2021 bring you all good things!
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Thank you, Beverly.
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Wonderful to see the sun shining on everyone there, in one of your most loved places, as you and she committed to each other.
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🙂 Thank you, Lisa.
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Beautiful, Ken–everything about this. I love your haiku, too. Perfect!
I didn’t know self-administered weddings weren’t permitted everywhere. Pennsylvania has probably allowed it for a long time because of Quakers.
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Thank you, Merril.
A handful of states allow allow self-solemnizing marriages. (Nevada, Kansas, and Maine allow it for people identifying as “Quakers” or “Friends.”) Pennsylvania has a self-uniting law because of the Quakers. It was limited to Quakers only, until a 2007 lawsuit opened it to everyone.
https://adventureinstead.com/self-solemnization/
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Both our daughters had friends who got online licenses to marry them.
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A fitting addition to your love poetry. Always makes me smile. (K)
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😀 Thank you, Kerfe.
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Great write, KG. I could feel the sunshine / love while I read. You da man.
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Thank you kindly, Ron.
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That is SO lovely, Ken. I love that you designed your own ceremony.
-David
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Thank you, David. It made that day even more special.
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So beautiful!
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Thank you!
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What a special beginning, the story gives so much meaning to the verse. “Love like waterfall” sticks as the title and last verse! 👏
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Thank you. 🙂
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This is a beautiful story!
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It was a beautiful day. Thank you!
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Self-administered wedding appeals – since I don’t anticipate any more marriages, I’ll just savor the notion and your story. (Love that photo, too.)
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Thank you. Self-uniting made it our own day, all that much more.
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A beautiful and joyful new beginning!
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Thank you, Ingrid. 🙂
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A beautiful beginning and a fantastic place to have a wedding – at a lighthouse on the shore of Lake Erie!
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Thank you, Kim. It was a fantastic day.
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Beautiful haiku to go with the story of your wedding day.
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Thank you, Janice.
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Such a beautiful love story Ken.
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🙂 Thank you, Linda.
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A glorious Haibun, glorious day, glorious memory. Cheers and Happy New Year!
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Thank you, and Happy New Year, Helen!
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What a beautiful photo for you great Haibun! I love the story and the setting. I did not know any states had self-administered weddings. Seems it worked very well for you. Great Haiku!
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It worked out perfectly. Thank you, Dwight.
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Oh how beautiful!
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😀 Thank you.
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A beautiful setting and analogy. Love flows, never ending.
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It does! Thank you. 🙂
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I love this story Ken, such a wonderful way to start again… The self-administrated wedding sounds wonderful… I don’t think we have that here, but we have great freedom in how to make the ceremony, but we still need someone official to “make it legal”
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Thank you, Björn. We were pleased when we learned it would be possible, and we made the most of the opportunity.
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