Poem: Love Goes On …my 400th poem in 365 days

I was afraid
That my broken heart would never heal
That when he left me
I was destined to limp through the rest of my life, wounded
But it didn’t happen that way
Love goes on
His love taught me about being lovable
The love I’d felt helped me grow strong
I was afraid
That when I left him
That he would never forgive me
That he would hate me
That he would just want to forget me
But it didn’t happen that way
Love goes on
The love we felt did not die
The love we knew helped us through
It allowed us to be kind
We made it through weakness
We made it through the unimaginable
We made it apart
And by doing so, love held us together
We came out strong
Love goes on
When I had no friend
When I was alone in a country
Where I could not speak the language
With no one to talk to
Exhausted and
Struggling at work
With no money
I was lower than low
But at some point
There’s no lower that you can go
And even there
Even alone
There is a love there
What love is this?
Whose love is this?
Is this the love of my great great grandmother
That imagined that one day I would exist
Is this the love that lingers on my forehead
From my father’s blessing kiss?
Even alone
At the lowest low
Some love will seep in
Look will seek you out
Love will find you
Love won’t give up on you
Love goes on
When a child moves out
Or becomes wiser than the parent
Or thinks that is so
When there is no understanding
Of how you could possibly be related
When the parent is frustrated and sad
When the kid is indignant and mad
Beneath it all
There is love
No matter what has been said
No matter what has been done
Though shoulders have been cold
And arrows have been slung
Love won’t get wounded
Love won’t die
You think you can kill it
Just try but
Love goes on
When brothers fall out
Threats are made
Promises are sealed
Upon your grave
But nothing can outlive love
Love can’t end
Love goes on
A passionate crush
And steamy sex
Becomes cold silence
Trangression
Indiscretion
Your mistress
Your affair
Becomes another ex
You assume that indifference or hate comes next
But hate is not real
Indifference is not strong
Try as you might
You can’t hate for long
When you are no longer lovers
You will continue to love
Love won’t fizzle out
Love goes on
And when someone double-crosses you
You want to cross them off too
But you can’t
Someone has wronged you
But you can’t hate for long
Any moment you let down your guard
Love will open the gate
Love will slip in
It will seep in
It will sneak in
Whether you want it or not
Love has more endurance than hate
Love goes on
Move away from your best friend
Ignore his call
Don’t send a letter
Try to forget it all
But you never will
The simple love you shared
Can’t be extinguished
Can’t be put out
Love does not need you to want it
Love can just hang out
Love goes on
Murder and war
Corruption and rape
Who has done this?
Who can I hate?
Hate is an impulse
But it can’t be sustained
Hate is a thunder cloud
That grows quickly, menacing
But in an instant of rage
It loses all its power
And becomes nothing again
Skinny as a toothpick
Big as a bull
Love is in love with you
A baby’s first breath
Love welcomes you
Your last dying gasp
Love escorts you
You can try to stop love
But you never will
Life or death
Wrong or right
Try as you might
Stop trying to fight
Love will win
What is there to lose
What is there to fear
You can’t stop love
The love that you felt is here
Love will always be near
Love goes on
—
About the poem:
The one thing I know for sure is that love is bigger and stronger than most of us give credit. We think people will not be able to handle the truth, our opinions or changes. But generally, they can and they do.
I chose the photo of a crocus from today’s walk, as the symbol of cheeriness that pops up when it seems completely unwelcomed and out of place. But year after year, the crocuses too are unstoppable. With little care or attention, they appear.
This is my final poem of my self-generated 365 poetry writing challenge. Thank you for reading this and any of my 400 poems written since April 1 2013. Please think of me if you need a poet, a speaker or a fearless cheerleader for your online or in-person event! You can buy my books on Amazon and Kindle, with more to come!
Thank you, Joan