I went to a wedding yesterday

and met a bunch of people I played “house” with

as a kid

I say met because we are not the same people

we were when holding plastic dolls,

make-believe vegetables

or each other’s hands across the playground

we are headed to college

to our first job

to the end of the nave 

as your soon-to-be husband

tries with the strength of a million men before him

to keep the tears out of his eyes

and his hands from shaking

of nervousness

and awe

we hug each other because it’s custom

and stick to how are you’s

instead of

why is this the first time i’ve seen you

in so

long

the girl that would read at quinceañeras tells me

you’re so grown up

and laughs when i tell her, you too

here comes the bride

my mom holds my hand

squirms like a teenage girl in excitement

i can’t help but tear up

because even though

our parents don’t talk anymore

and i have to ask my mom to remind me of the bride’s age

im witnessing the beginning of something

a moment in a photo album

but more importantly

the moment that begins a family

two beautiful people with countless lives

intertwined with their own

converging into one

where strangers 

become friends

then family

and the people you’ll happily re-meet 

on another’s wedding day