You-Me-Us, a Growing Passion

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._N._Taber

I am not getting on too well with either my fractured ankle or the hormone therapy for my prostate cancer, but writing love poems always cheers me up. Although I have not had a partner for many years, the memory of our love always lifts my spirits whenever they hover at the edge of some abyss and contemplate going into free fall...

One of my favourite songs is 'All The Way', beautifully sung by the late, great Frank Sinatra in the movie, The Joker is Wild; it starts, 'If somebody loves you, it's no good unless they love you/all the way/ through the sad and lean years, and all the in-between years, come what may...

Neither love nor passion are reserved solely for people, of course; places, pets, books, works of art (creating as well as viewing) we can so easily fall in love with these, and over a lifetime such love can just as easily become a passion. Nor should we ever forget or underestimate the role of platonic love in our lives ... 

"Love is the wisdom of the fool and the folly of the wise."

- Samuel Johnson

"Love without passion is dreary; passion without love is horrific."

-- Lord Byron

Love, though, can be something of a lottery, and you have to be in it to win it.

YOU-ME-US, A GROWING PASSION

I built a sandcastle for you,

but you kicked it down with infant feet,

and made me cry buckets

I wrote a love poem for you,

but you threw a typical teenage tantrum,

and tore it into tiny pieces

I composed a pop song for you,

and everyone loved it except the person

for whom it was intended

I painted a portrait of you,

but you didn’t care for the way I see you,

and cold-shouldered me

I made a solemn promise to you

that I’d love you forever, no matter what,

and we kissed

We made love together, bonding

with eternity, transcending a born intimacy

and centuries-old creativity

Together, we built a castle

to withstand all temporal waves, reaffirm

the spirituality of creativity

Copyright R. N. Taber 2012

[Note: This poem first appeared under the title 'Making Sure of Love' in Tracking the Torchbearer by R. N. Taber, Assembly Books, 2012.]