Love

I fell in love once, long ago,

thinking that it was everything -

I had one shot at this phenomenon,

kissing her slowly on the forehead,

and that was enough for me.

 

So when that love faded

I was surprised to find how easy it was

to love again, and how freely

I could reach inside and hand out

all the warm, pulsing pieces.

 

I fell in love with the idea of love;

I found it in the books I read,

the poems I wrote,

and the girl in the coffee shop

with the pen in her hand.

 

I didn’t get her name

but I did get her smile

imprinted in the folds of memory,

emerging in dark night dreams

when I couldn’t stay awake.

 

I fell in love with the moonlight

on my bedroom wall,

filtering in through slatted blinds

like a river flowing with

bright white promise.

 

And finally I fell in love

with the girl on the tennis court,

bouncing the ball three times

before expertly winning the match

without allowing a single point.

 

We talked for a while afterwards,

walking through the wooded park

and recounting that heartfelt defeat,

among the chirping birds

and falling late summer leaves.

 

It occurred to me that love,

as young and vibrant

as we used to imagine it might be,

is more like the brown leaf

drifting through the wind.

It can turn, turn over,

so many times, over again,

and still be rustled should it fall.

That was my heart, wandering aimlessly,

waiting for the breeze to carry it home.

 

I am there now.

Reviews

[SPINNING ON that dizzy ..]

Excellent walk through the phases. You capture moments of love and loving and the skip a beat kinda thing that can happen when we are open to it. Good words and great flow through the seasons of love. Like this :)

[Sophy Freebirds]

You've very nicely portrayed the wide eyed innocent love.. walking in the park holding hands,kissing the forehead.It was all that mattered but slowly we come to know the truth.It unfolds itself that it is a raw and strong emotion from which we can't move on but a brown and dry leaf blown by the wind.. waiting to be taken home.. :) the title was simple yet grabbed my attention cause i am tired of heavy ornamental titles.Keep writing amigo.

~Sophy