Against the Onslaught

Four Love Poems

Issue #17

Illinois, October 6, 1973

Layers

I listen to the flowers
floating in the veil
of memory and fear.
Sometimes, I must walk
on paths not taken by
others. I steal a strand
of your brown hair and
place it in my wallet for a time
in the future when you are not
here. I watch your lips move
and wish that I could hear
your soul speaking. We each
must choose the destiny that
guides us through the layers
of passion and gives us hope.
Hold me tight and protect me
against the onslaught of wind
and rain and doubt. The night
is ours for the taking, and we
must share ourselves with the moon.

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Notes

These four short poems are more concerned with imagery and sound than with narrative. What connects them all is the theme of love and relationships. I recommend reading them aloud or listening to my recordings. Sometimes, poetry is more about the feelings generated than the story told.

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Commitment

Sunlight plays
with the color
of your eyes.
I catch your smile
in the palm of my hand.
Tomorrow, we are
to be married and
spend the rest of
our days together.
What will we remember
when our hair has
turned shades of gray?
How much pain will
we have caused? How 
much forgiveness will
we need? I toss your
smile back to you and
listen to the tone of
your voice when you say
I love you one more time.

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Notes

This poem appears to have been written when the speaker was soon to be married, but I wrote it after being married for 30+ years. I imagined the speaker on the eve of his wedding contemplating the future and the changes that would impact their life together.

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The Key

A blaze of sun
brightens my path
through the forest
of doubt and regret.
Too often we linger
at the water's edge,
afraid of the journey
that opens our hearts.
We are travelers,
unknown to strangers,
forgotten by family,
taking each step
in the hope of finding
the answer to our fears,
the healing of our pain.
We hold the key
to the future in the palms
of our hands. We dance
with God beneath
a rainbow of love.

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Notes

Relationships are a journey of the heart. Our travels change us, the places we see, the strangers we meet, and the family we create. Relationships are the dance of rainbows.

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Things Unspoken

I listen to the sounds
of rainbows caressing the sky
with wild colors.  Sometimes,
the heart is a lion stalking
its prey. I remember only
small moments of our lives
together. We were butterflies
fluttering in the winds of change.
Dance with me now while
the moon rocks in its chair,
and the wolves sing in unison.
I hold the faces of death
in my hands and wish for
things unseen and unspoken.
Forgive the betrayal of our youth
and hold me close in the dark hours
before the morning comes. I fear
the pain that robs me of my
humanity and my birthright.
I fear the memory of God.

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Notes

Relationships are about memories—those small moments we spent together, like butterflies fluttering against the wind, facing death, and things unseen. Relationships are about betrayal, forgiveness, and healing the pain.

Thank you for reading these poems.

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