PostPoems Be Artistic. Be Creative. Be Inspired!

May we be blessed to understand true love

need not be an illusion…a fantasy…a myth…

It’s as simple as knowing that forever is a long time

and finding someone to spend that forever with!

Year’s ago I was reading through Deborah’s mom’s old recipe book…

I hadn’t read very far when I realized…if it was a recipe she loved…

next to it…she’d place a star.

On one of the pages near the end of the book…in the margin up above

printed in her own hand was…A RECIPE FOR LOVE.

Deborah’s mom and dad were happily in love…

as anyone who knew them could see.

which made me very interested in knowing her recipe.

‘Find someone who loves you for who you are.’ She wrote.

‘Who encourages your happiness and helps you overcome your fears.’

‘Someone who is always close enough to share all your joy…

while absorbing half your tears.’

And here the recipe stopped…

I searched the other margins for more wisdom…perhaps a quote

but these two lines on the top of the page were the only words she wrote.

I read them over and over again…

her message was clear, succinct…concise…

I imagine Deborah’s mom thought these two lines would suffice.

As any seasoned chef knows…when you are on a recipe quest…

sometimes in cooking…as in life…the simplest recipes are the best.

As Deborah and I begin our 37th year together…

We are happily in love…as anyone who knows us can see

and I am grateful every day I discovered her mom’s recipe

Since this is the best recipe for love I’ve ever found…

the best recipe by far!

in the margin of her recipe book…

right next her A RECIPE FOR LOVE…

I have also placed a star.

Today…a definition of love as only 8 year old Rebeccas can tell it….

even though when it comes to arthritis…she has no idea how to spell It!

Love, she writes, is when my Granny had athritis…could not paint her nails

and was feeling sad and blue…

my Grandpa did it for her…

even though he had athritis too.

I’m sitting at our cabin in the mountains watching the sunrise…listening to the birds

wondering if a poem will decide to join me…waiting for the words.

When I think to myself how I love watching the sun coat the mountains

love the green and yellow hues

love sitting amidst the trees, love a cloudless sky painted blue.

And I started thinking about all the things I love about this planet Earth..

and wondering how many times I’ve said I love this or that about it

since the moment of my birth

How I also love music, art, chocolate, listening to the whistle of a train,

How I love the ocean, lakes and rivers…dancing in the rain…

And what about all the people in my life…my family and my friends?

The number of times I’ve heard or said I love you…never seems to end.

When counting the moments of love shared together in all our days and years?

Shouldn’t I also count all the touches, the whispers, the hugs…

all the smiles…all the tears?

Since I could never count the number of times I’ve said I love you…

or someone has said those words to me…

it makes me wonder if that’s the reason numbers go on into infinity?

Or perhaps our creators…from their lofty castles in the sky

never meant for us to count love…or even question why… 

But only to enjoy it…in whatever forms it may appear

as is accompanies us on our journey every day of every year.

Perhaps they only wanted us to feel lucky and be grateful

as they smile down at us from up above

every time we hear or say the words I love you

and for all the things there are in life to love.

The hour of dread, with soft paws and long whiskers,
Nears its cruel crescendo, as the twilight bleeds
Into darkened silence. Green eyes, orbs of emerald,
Hold galaxies of grief, as if understanding
The inevitable decision, kind but unbearable.

Mr Kitty, you’ve stalked shadows and sunbeams,
In this house of loving dreams. Now,
The shadow looms larger and devours the light.
Your purrs, once symphonies in the quiet night,
Diminish, a tremor in the cold winter air.

Cancer gnaws at you, a voracious ghost,
A dark star in the velvet sky of your mouth,
While I, the unwilling god, hold the power
To halt your descent into the abyss,
Yet tremble at the gravity of our goodbye.

How does one render mercy, when mercy
Is a sharpened blade? The decision, a bitter promise,
Etched in the ledger of love and loss.
I choke on the syllables of farewell,
My heart a shattered vessel.

You, in your tuxedo coat, an elegant spectre,
Press against my hand, unaware of time's cruelty.
I search for solace in your calm as if
You’ve found peace in the acceptance,
Of a fate that I cannot fathom.

This difficult choice, a merciful surrender,
To spare you immeasurable pain,
The indignity of losing autonomy,
A kindness carved from sorrow,
To preserve the dignity that you deserve.

Forgive me, Mr Kitty, for playing god
In this charade of mercy and despair.
Know that love has carved this path,
And in the twilight of our shared existence,
Your memory will burn, unquenchable, real and eternal.

As the final hour approaches, know I’ll hold you close,
A lifeline in the storm of sorrow.
Your green eyes, lanterns of ancient wisdom,
Guide me through the darkness, whispering
That release is not an end, but a gentle beginning.

May we be blessed while we’re alive

until we ascend to the heavens above

to know every moment of every day

that we are truly loved.

This is a story about happiness that began 60 years ago.

Keep in mind that even a story of happiness has it’s share of sadness, tears and woe.

She was working at a diner…when he saw her and was swept away.

He kept returning to that diner each and every day.

Yes, he continued eating at that diner even though the food was not that great

until he gathered up enough nerve to ask her for a date.

And from that chance meeting in the diner…once he overcame his fears

this couple never parted…and were married 60 years.

Their friends smile when they say with conviction and with pride.

in all the time they’ve known them…they are happiness personified.

They’ve watched them through their joyous times…with friends and family

when love, joy, laughter and smiles appear so easily

They’ve watched when tragedy struck…how their love always had the knack

amidst their tears and sorrow…to gently ease their smiles back.

For 60 years through their ups and downs from that first day they both knew

their love for one another and their faith in god would help to see them through.

It’s a love story for the ages…but as we know life’s not always fair

and 60 years together is all they’d get to share.

For he is now he’s in heaven…they’re finally spending time apart…

and she is left with wonderful memories…and a whole within her heart.

So why is this a story about happiness…you ask…when it’s ending is so sad… 

because it’s about all the joy, happiness and love for 60 years they had…

For 60 years they shared a love that no sorrow could destroy

because this ending would not be so sad…If their life had not been filled with so much joy.

I imagine that is both the gift and the curse of love…of finding someone you adore…

that even after 60 years of happiness…you still yearn for one day more.

Oh how she loves to journey…in her life travel is a must.

It’s one of life’s beautiful added bonuses…being born with wanderlust.

So they plan these awesome trips…and together they travel far and wide…

happily touring the country…hand-in-hand and side-by-side.

Yes, she was born with a lust for adventure…in her this need is strong

He was not born with her wanderlust…but he loves to go along.

One day she asked him…”You know how much I love to travel…

to experience all I can experience…to see all that I can see…

I don’t think I’ve ever asked you…do you love to travel as much as me….

“I look at every day as a new adventure.” He told her.  

“It has never mattered what we do or where we travel to.”

“Whether we’re in the car, climbing a mountain or standing by the sea.”

Whether on a morning walk 

listening to the birds

watching a butterfly or a bee….

Then he smiled…took her hands in his and said,

“All these years we’ve been together I guess I thought you knew…

“It has never mattered where we go…

as long as I’m with you.”

May we all be blessed to understand the duality of love

as, each day, time continues its flow…. 

How that same love that makes life 

so wonderful

so beautiful

so easy…

Also…

makes it so hard to let go.