Reflecting on good fortune snug on a pedestal
When life was of prophetic indications pulsating
Looking to the sky clouds bidding as palatable
A tussle to recollect images of a pretty plaything
What of sweet recollections?
Gracious imaginations with mutual feelings of awe
Boy and girl whispering sweet nothings manifold
Insisting on a sacrifice towards a future together
Warm memories nostalgic in part but put on hold
What of uncanny acquiesce?
The winter of their life together devoid of fears
Meant for each other a relationship so blissful
What kept alive little anecdotes of yesteryears
Two hearts locked in place exquisitely beautiful
Sherry: I always admire marriages that have stood
the test of time. I love this poem, Hank, and the loving story it tells.
Hank: There
comes a time in a man's heart, the recollections of those moments in time. It
has been said. one remembers only too well an odd moment of grazing one's knee
in a fall, more so the sweet moments of being together.
Reflecting on such nostalgic moments together of
times long ago can be therapeutic to the lonely heart. It culminates in this
poem!
Sherry: And does it so well! Thank you, Hank. Buddah wrote a poem recently which also speaks to marriage, and the wonder of seeing the beauty of one's mate, growing richer with the passing of the years. Let's read.
(Frasier, Phillipe and Mosk)
from the kitchen:
she was with him,
my beloved grandson,
and she was
so respectful,
and warm
and fun.
She was always
the woman I married,
but somehow,
I’d never seen
this woman before:
someone who consented
to share my life
and my fortunes,
a woman with a bounty
of lustrous eyelashes,
inviting curvature,
and an oasis smile.
She gives him
her truest,
most unguarded
laughter and joy,
and he is forever changed
one lesson at a time.
I see her expressing
the purest version of love
I’ve ever witnessed,
and the thought comes,
unbidden:
“That’s the woman
I want to make love to.”
Sherry: I love just knowing that marriages like this exist, Buddah! This is so heartwarming.
Buddah: The poem is about my wife playing with our grandson,
and it brought out such love and desire, well, it's hopefully self-explanatory.
Sherry: I love it! Lee San's poem is addressed to his wife, also, in a much sadder situation.
the eyes
are the open windows
to the soul
and in the moments that i look
deep into them
though they are clouded
because of the pain
they still burn with a flame
of fight
your eyes
smile like the first day
i met you
though there is a flicker
of regret
knowing that our days
together
will be like sand out of
our fingers
my eyes
are the dikes breaking
please don't
let her see my weakness
my fears
but a single tear
warm and salty rolls down
my cheeks
and then a frail hand touches my face.
are the open windows
to the soul
and in the moments that i look
deep into them
though they are clouded
because of the pain
they still burn with a flame
of fight
your eyes
smile like the first day
i met you
though there is a flicker
of regret
knowing that our days
together
will be like sand out of
our fingers
my eyes
are the dikes breaking
please don't
let her see my weakness
my fears
but a single tear
warm and salty rolls down
my cheeks
and then a frail hand touches my face.
Sherry: This is so moving, Lee San, the tears, and her frail hand reaching out to comfort you.
Lee San: I wrote this poem more than ten years ago, when on
an idle day, I was thinking about my late wife. She had radiotherapy treatment
for cancer, and the side effects were awful. I was thinking, she had put up a
good fight, but why was she still taken away? These flashbacks happen, I
guess, even though I thought one had gotten over it. Anyway, the poem was
sitting in my PC for some time. I thought it might be too personal to publish,
but recently, I took it out, edited it majorly, and, yes, to push the publish
button.
I think our memories and experiences, heartaches included, are deep wells from which we can dredge materials for our poetry.
I think our memories and experiences, heartaches included, are deep wells from which we can dredge materials for our poetry.
Sherry: Thank you for sharing this, Lee San. I am so
sorry that happened to you and your wife. I don’t think we ever get over such a loss; it just comes
to live inside us.
Sigh. These poems move me. Thank you, gentlemen, for writing and sharing them. Do come back, friends, to see who we talk to next. Who knows? It might be you!
Sigh. Such heartwarming - and heart-pinging - poems. So much love! Thank you, gentlemen, for lifting our hearts. Lee San, your poem especially touches my heart; it is so poignant. I am sorry you had such a sad loss.
ReplyDeleteAn enjoyable post, Sherry, with heart-warming poems and interesting interviews, with pictures – it’s good to put a face (or the top of a head – nice hair Mosk) to a familiar name. My favourite stanza in Hank’s poem is the happy ending. Mosk’s poem gave me a happy glow; he and his grandson are lucky guys, and his wife is a lucky woman! Lee San’s poem brought tears to my eyes, especially the lines:
ReplyDelete‘…there is a flicker
of regret
knowing that our days
together
will be like sand out of
our fingers’
and
'...a frail hand touches my face’.
I’m so sorry for his loss.
Me, too, Kim. That poem really moves me. Sigh. Happy you enjoyed the feature.
ReplyDeleteThank you Sherry for having Hank together with two fine gentlemen. Buddah and Lee San. Wonderful poets, Hank feels honored. And thank you Kim for your kind remarks. You've always been fast on the gun!
ReplyDeleteHank
It was my pleasure, Hank. Thank you for saying yes. It makes me happy, reading these poems about love that lasts the test of time.
DeleteHaving experienced both long marriage and widowhood, I can relate to all of these (albeit written by husbands rather than wives). I have long thought that marriage is one of the greatest adventures. After the first romantic love is added to by the prosaic details of living together and the challenges of life in general, if we're lucky we find our love enriched and constantly deepening. Each if these poems is moving in its own way. I remember having read Lee San's poem before and being very touched by it then too. In all of them it is the mutuality of the love expressed, the women not merely seen as love objects but active love givers too, which makes them so special.
ReplyDeleteOh that is it exactly it, Rosemary, the women are all depicted as love givers. I was especially moved by Lee San's wife, so ill, yet comforting her husband. Sigh. I have never been fortunate enough to experience love that settles in for the long haul - other than with my canine companions. I have always known that must be so wonderful.
ReplyDeleteWonderful poems of love, of long time marriage, of caring. Each one is so very moving. A wonderful feature, Sherry!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Mary. I absolutely love to hear stories of love that lasts. For all my disclaimers, and lack of love stories of my own, I am a hopeless romantic. Always have been.
ReplyDeleteSo nice to read these three wonderful poems by men who love their wives. I've had a long marriage myself. I am so grateful to share my life with someone who has loved me as unconditionally as possible.
ReplyDeleteThank you Sherry for featuring these three loving men.
These were a pleasure to read. Each one is moving in its own way. <3
ReplyDeleteThanks for rading, friends. Yes, it is good to know such long unions exist.
ReplyDeleteWonderful poems about love and marriage … a relationship comprised of so many aspects and layers and seasons and passages and emotions … as the poems featured here, reflect. I agree with Myrna, it is so nice to read the poems of men who love their wives. Writing and reading poetry about love and commitment is a pretty awesome thing to embrace. We are - all of us - better people for including that in our lives and seeing the beauty to be found there. Thanks, once again, for making this happen, Sherry. Great job on this, Poets!
ReplyDeleteI love all the layers and seasons! Nice to see you, Wendy.
ReplyDeleteHeart warming to read poems about marriage and wives written by these gentlemen! Thank you all for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThanks for featuring my modest words. This poem is about my two favorite people, so I love it.
ReplyDeleteAm having trouble getting this comment to post. Sigh. Thank you for sharing your poem, Buddah. It is so heartwarming. You made us SEE them both!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Sherry, for sharing our poems. I am feeling delighted and honoured.
ReplyDeleteI am happy to be in the company of Hank and Buddah. :)
A wonderful feature, Sherry, Hank, Buddah and Lee San! Each poem brings me heartwarming images and makes me think of my own true love.
ReplyDelete