Gay Wedding Reading: To Myself, Ten Years Ago

You won't believe what I see from this vantage point, the years
stretching out before you like a long and winding road. I don't
want to scare you, but there is a forest just up ahead. You will wander
lost, in this long, perilous night, not knowing if it will ever come
to an end. But believe me, the light will find you again, and when
it does, you will no longer be afraid of the dark. 

Stop to catch your breath. Soon, a jagged mountain of ice will rise
before you, so steep it will make you want to turn back around. 
Don't despair; the first foothold is always the most difficult and
every inch you claim of that cold, hard precipice will only make
you stronger. Before you know it, the ground will level out
beneath you, and you will look back to see you had conquered
what you once thought impossible. 

See that turn up ahead? That's the place where love will meet
you, with arms so warm it will melt away the winter in an instant. 
And then, it will be summer for a very long time. 

Lang Leav