Loves lifelong Vow

 Today Mike and I have been married 39 years! Of course we married at 10 -LOL.

At our wedding ceremony (which was very traditional 1974 style) we used the-

Groom: I,____, take thee,_____, to be my lawful wedded Wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part, according to God's holy ordinance; and thereto I plight thee my troth.

Bride: I,_____, take thee,_____, to be my lawful wedded Husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love, cherish, and to obey, till death us do part, according to God's holy ordinance; and thereto I give thee my troth

I have no idea what my troth was and how I was supposed to give it but these were the things we said.
I started thinking about all the words we say to one another and giving our pledge is such a lost way of life. I did mean these words even if I didnt fully get it.
So here is my poem to my first and only love-

                            The Vows


The Vows we said were black and white
We had little understanding in the candlelight.

The Vows we said were words of old
From times past when love was often sold.

The Vows we said were meant to last
A pledge, a promise and a lifelong task.

The Vows we spoke were hard to live
But kept love going when there wasnt much to give.

The Vows we said were black and white
Keeping us through our darkest night.
And as the years have hurried by
Our love has been tested and has been tried.

And the words we spoke in black and white
Have burst forth in color illuminated by His Light.