Love Made Me

Love made me shy when I wanted to sing

like bird song sonata with golden hue.

Love made me soar on the happiest wing

on grand sails of splendor through sapphire blue.

Love made me bliss like a new morning flame

like fingertips touching the hand of day.

Love made me bloom when you whispered my name

pressing my petals in pleasure to lay.

Love made me reflect upon every word

like a willow with sleeves in the river.

Love made me listen and listening heard

light strings of rain that made the leaves shiver.

Love made me fall like the folds of a gown

or the unbraiding of Rapunzel’s hair.

Love made me soft as a feather in down

or the sound of silence when snow falls fair.

Love made me spill all my secrets to tell

like the rapids of a waterfall vein.

Love made me blush like a rose in the dell

plucked by the wind in a zither of rain.

Love made me cling like a moth to the moon

or bottle-green moss in a forest square.

Love made me sweet as a meadow in June

whose fragrant flowers are scenting the air.

Love made me more than I thought I could be

and made me wish I was perfect for you.

Love made me silk like the silk of the sea

whose dreaming dampness was channeled for two.

Love made me drown in a backwash of tears

as if a thundercloud burst in my breast.

Love made me shoulder its shadow for years

like Atlas holding the sky in the west.

Love made me leave when I wanted to stay,

and my heart hemorrhaged on blades of grass.

Love made me waver as I crawled away,

and your silence shattered like shards of glass.

Love made me curl into bittersweet cry

like autumn leaves huddled in patchwork heaps.

Love made me still, with a yearning to fly,

like a child dreaming whenever she sleeps.

Love made me whole, and it made me divine.

Love encased butterflies within my heart.

Love made me weak; yet, it strengthened my spine

when the harvest moon dimmed its light to part.

Love made me turn for a moment undone,

halting in the hope of a sign from you.

Love made me numb as you set for the sun

knowing the sun would soon set in me too.

Love made me new as a garden in spring

or a river-washed range of desert sky.

Love made me a pen, whose point is to sing,

to tug loose the tears that wade in the eye.

Love made me a cloud to rain in my soul,

to drink in the ink of the ocean’s swell.

Love made me a petal and petiole

to rise in glory before glory fell.

Author's Note

Reviews

[William Liston]

This is so beautiful. As always, your words flow with such grace and wonder that I find it hard to believe that any human being could compose it ... it seems to have fallen from the heavens.
The way you illustrate the varius shades of love, its tender moments, its passionate moments, how it gives one courage, how it can tear one apart, how it endures ... is so vivid and enthralling that while reading, I found myself holding my chest. This may be my favorite of yours for (to me) it epitomizes your style - the poignant delicacy in your expressions, the abstract beauty of your descriptions, the sheer wonder and openness of your imagery, the etheral nuances that bleed through your every line ... I could go on and on.
The lines that especially struck me in this piece (though all of them were brilliant) had to be:

"Love made me a pen, whose point is to sing,
to tug loose the tears that wade in the eye."

Excellent work!

- William Liston

[Linda Marie Van Tassell]

Dear William,

Thank you for taking the time to not only read the poem but for taking the time to leave such a thoughtful, insightful, and beautiful review. I really appreciate the feedback from such an accomplished writer as yourself.

Linda Marie

[Island Hippy]

Aloha, every season of love you write with such depth and such knowing that I am utterly moved by the grace of your pen. A crescendo of life! This feels so special to me and has an honesty that is telling of the writer. I found myself going through every emotion while tasting each verse. The following verse took my breath away because it speaks of my heart for my husband and our son

“Love made me whole, and it made me divine.
Love encased butterflies within my heart.
Love made me weak; yet, it strengthened my spine
when the harvest moon dimmed its light to part.”

Exceptional offering, graceful pen.
Mahalo, Izzy.

[Linda Marie Van Tassell]

Thank you.

[Relic]

The rhythm is the first thing that grabbed me as though caught by a leaf flowing down a river, watching it as it flowed by. Then the video appeared. :) The Metaphors are stunning and vivid, filled with imagination.

A perfect marriage of images, music, and words.

In other words, Art!

[Govind singh]

This was amazing...I was like who's this ?...keep writing pls:)

[KCthelastboyscout]

Very beautiful. Very touching
Words from the heart.that's where the honesty comes.well done

[Dionysian Gnostic]

There have been countless volumes written about love and how people experience it and it never ceases to fascinate me that there's always so much more to say. You've really gone to great lengths to discuss various subtle and not so subtle nuances that render different facets of love. You've danced it around the room without trepidation. It was very pleasant to have read especially with the music you offer up to enjoy it with.

[Justin]

that was beautiful well done, the presentation was amazing, you were able take the word love and make it into a beautiful poem, beautiful :) :)

[Writer at last! Sky ~]

Love made me whole, and it made me divine.
Love encased butterflies within my heart.
Love made me weak; yet, it strengthened my spine
when the harvest moon dimmed its light to part...


Havent read something beautiful like that before. One word love and one life to go.....Wish to be in love forever.

[Fabian G. Franklin]

This is really quite wonderful and I loved so many of the lines. I'm of the opinion that love takes the rap for an assortment of pains that are caused by something entirely different from love...like misplaced faith or unrealistic expectations. Loss causes lasting pain and leaves scars upon the soul. But loss is not love. Love is the thing which remains and reminds us of our loss. Love is held guilty by emotional association. But I believe love is always good and love is eternal. I love my father though he has been gone for over three decades now. I love my mother and she has been gone nearly seven years. I do not say "loved" because the love for them lives in me and how can one say, "I died yesterday?" But this piece is delightful and beautiful and I very much enjoyed reading every line of it.

[Norbanus]

The words are smooth and flowing like a stream,
through thoughts of golden hue and songs to sing.
Each quatrain bring another step to team,
with all the others which have taken wing.

Delightful how your carried us along,
from shyness through the rapids of a falls.
No matter of the pressure or how long,
the ambiance of loving fills the walls.

This verse shows us a master at her work.
One day we'll find it's passed this golden glow.
And then, demand the patience of housework,
to keep alive reflections in the know.

Past deeds rush in with joy to make a case,
Ignoring all those tears upon the face,

[drew garner]

Part of me thinks it is a little long, but I can't think of a word I would change. I quite enjoyed reading this.

[Linda Marie Van Tassell]

I agree. It took weeks to write this poem, and I thought it would never end. Once I started, it never seemed to want to end. I literally followed the poems lead until it reached its destination. This was a labor of love, and I wanted each stanza to have the ability to stand on its own merit. In this way, each individual stanza has the potential to be a favorite depending on what strikes a chord with the reader. Thank you for reading and reviewing.