An acquaintance just shared with the “Apache Wedding Poem”. I find doubtful to incredulous of its Apache origins.
Here it goes:
*Wedding Vows - Apache Wedding Poem
Now for you there is no rain
For one is shelter to the other.
Now for you there is no darkness
For one is counsel to the other.
Now for you there is no pain
For one is comfort to the other.
Now for you there is no night
For one is light to the other.
Now for you there is no cold
For one is warmth to the other.
Now for you the snow has ended, always
Your fears, your wants, your needs are at rest.
It is that way today, tomorrow and forever.
Now it is good and there is always shelter.
And now there is always one.
And now there is no loneliness.
Now, forever, forever you are as one.
There are two bodies.
But now there is only one heart in both
And you are as one person.*
Anybody know when this showed up? (I’ll guess the 70’s.) and where it actually came from (I’ll guess some misty eyed undergraduate on one of the coasts).
Oh, God, not the “Apache” Wedding Blessing! My husband and I joke that you must not be considered legally married if you don’t have someone recite this at your wedding. (If that’s the case, then we’re still living in sin.) I’ve heard it so damn many times.
From what I can tell, it’s based on a poem called “Wedding Braids” written by a guy named Stan Davis. There’s also a Stan Davis who does Thomas Kinkade-style paintings of Native Americans.
According to his bio on Trailside Galleries , that Stan Davis “spent his childhood exploring the red clay soil and sandy beaches of Florida’s pan handle an area covered with early remnants of pre Colombian Indian villages. He would spend his days hunting for arrowheads, pottery shards and spearheads. After graduating with honors from the Ringling School of Art in Sarasota, he relocated to Los Angeles and enjoyed a successful career in advertising before turning to fine art on a full time basis. Now, living again in his home state of Florida, his rich and colorful Indian subjects are inspired not only by his early years in the state but by travel and hands on research throughout the west.”
Wikipedia says it was written for the 1950 Western movie Broken Arrow. Since Stan Davis was born in 1942, I don’t think he wrote any form of it. I find this line of evidence more convincing than the message board cites I’ve found for his writing a poem; the only “Wedding Braids” Davis created appears to be a painting by that name. I wouldn’t be at all surprised to learn that there’s one of those glurgy posters out there combining the two, which might be where the misconception arose.