Eternity
Elizabeth Barrett Brownings’s Sonnet 43 said it best when she wrote:
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of being and ideal grace.
I love thee to the level of every day’s
Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight.
I love thee freely, as men strive for right.
I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood’s faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints. I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee in better after death.
This poem is in the public domain.
A wedding ring, we are told, is a symbol of eternity, as in the poem. An enduring love that can never end.
On the other hand, our vows say only, “ til death do us part.”
That leaves me in a quandary… do I wear the rings my husband gave to me as a symbol of eternal love,
OR
Wear them on a chain around my neck, next to my heart…
Leave them in my will for someone dear to me…
Frame them in a shadow jewelry box…
Wear them on my right hand forever…
Melt the gold and reset the stones into another ring or necklace…
Donate them to a good cause, like a meaningful nonprofit, like Lou’s favorite, St.Judes’s…
I even heard of one woman who had them incorporatedinto their headstones…
Toss them into the ocean or favourite fishing lake…
Plant a memorial tree with your rings…
Arrange to have them buried with my ashes..
I’ve chosen to believe that Lou was my one and only love. In my mind we wed for all time, for eternity. I still wear my rings. In fact, I had Lou’s wedding ring resized to wear next to mine, on my left hand!
I’d like to hear from you! What did you decide to do with your wedding rings?
Elaine.tro4@gmail.com
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