The Royal Wedding

We’ve watched every Super Bowl since Vince Lombardi 

The finals at Wimbledon, the French, the U.S. Open

Other galas too: the Oscars, the Tonys, the Kentucky Derby

Even Miss America till Bert Parks retired 

But nothing comes as close in elegance and grandeur as (you know it) 

The Royal Wedding! 

Arguably the number one extravaganza on Earth 

Even our closest friends don’t suspect  

But my wife, we believe, has a touch of royal blood

A mere teenager when her family traveled through Canada 

Numerous strangers approached her on the street

“You look exactly like our beloved Queen,” they’d say

Elizabeth was in her mid-twenties at the time

My wife, a fourth cousin?  A long-lost half sister? 

We’ve always included the royals in our family

Princess Di, practically a sister-in-law  

We see every movie by Helen and Kate

Binge-watched “The Crown” on Netflix

Are glued to the BBC at Buckingham Palace 

But the Royal Wedding, that’s another story 

Few things in life get more real  

The media, of course, a feeding frenzy

Pre-wedding festivities from dawn to dusk 

Then the wedding day itself, Four a.m. till Eleven

I DVR’d the entire lineup 

NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX, E!, PBS, LIFE, HBO, CNN

Weeks of viewing pleasure for my spouse  

Mid-summer, it will take, to absorb it all  

No alarm needed, we woke up at six 

Prince Harry, Prince William, ambling into the chapel

Fine military regalia, Harry’s neatly trimmed beard

Then Megan Markle in her Hollywood splendor

Tiara, white gown, a forty foot train

A bevy of flower girls, tousle-haired page boys

Prince Charles himself walks the bride down the aisle  

There among the onlookers, Oprah, George C., and Elton John 

And, of course, the Queen herself, looking stately in chartreuse 

Sweet glances, quiet laughter, Harry’s slight signs of nerves

The gospel choir singing, “Stand by me”

My wife sheds a tear at the holy vows

A kiss on the steps, the carriage ride, the adoring crowd

Seventy-five thousand strong

Red-uniformed cavalry, twenty-six noble stallions 

Suddenly it’s over, this fairy-tale wedding 

The end of royal marriages for two or three decades 

We’ll probably be a hundred two by then 

But Prince Philip looked surprisingly fit at ninety-six

That leaves royal hope for the rest of us