Alone ..... what a heart-wrenching word,  
Hope recoils in the face of Despair;  
The purpose of Life becomes blurred,  
A promise broken beyond repair  
  
Alone ..... riding the restless waves  
Of loneliness on this stormy sea;  
O, to send my woes to their graves  
And revel in Love's sweet company!

Alone ..... too much time to wonder
When light and dark converged into one;
Helplessly I watched Fate plunder
All I held most dear under the sun

Alone ..... I knocked at Heaven's door,
But to my anguish no ear paid heed;
Yet, in dark hours I still implore
Heaven to commute what Fate decreed

Alone ..... now facing Life's twilight,
Straight to my heart panic flings its spears;
What once was deemed a sorry plight,
Has become the sum of all my fears

Why was I drawn to that gypsy's tent  
When the carnival came to town?  
"Your fortune for one dollar," she cried,  
Soon she wore my resistance down  

After staring at my hand a while  
She announced with a worried sigh:  
"You're a woman wrapped in loneliness,  
Lonely until the day you die!"  

She tried to offer a kindly smile,  
But I sensed pity and sorrow;  
Did she think I took her seriously?  
No one can foretell tomorrow  

Now I look at that same hand today  
And recall her words -  how they sting!    
This abandoned hand that no one holds,  
My finger, wearing no man's ring

But it was a time of hope and dreams  
When the gypsy first read my palm;  
How did she know, I now ask myself,
Sitting alone in twilight's calm  

Lips that kissed mine uttered promises  
They never intended to keep;  
And a heart that pledged its faithfulness
Sank to deeds that were dark and deep  
  
Just what did the gypsy see that day  
While she sadly gazed at my hand?  
Why did she not tell me all my dreams
Would be built upon shifting sand!

So long ago she read Fate's decree,
Truth I can no longer deny:
I'm a woman wrapped in loneliness,
Lonely ..... until the day I die

When the sun yawns its last farewell,
Lonely hearts plot their rendezvous;
Stay on the path that our dreams have blazed,
When darkness falls, I'll come to you

Silently, we'll greet each other,
For we must not disturb the moon;
He'll tell the sun of our escapade --
Dawn's light would end our tryst too soon

In our dreams love is gratified,
Its beauty totally revealed;
Even though distance prohibits touch,
Secret longings shall be unsealed

Though mutely we communicate,
My poet, my love, you know how
To weave your sweet words into a wreath,
Laying it gently upon my brow

And to your heart I'll render proof
Of the faithful love that you seek;
But I'll not disturb the silent night,
To touch your heart, I need not speak

And this night will bear witness to
A simple truth to which we're bound:
Our love transcends silence and distance,
All this confirmed ..... without a sound

False prophets never weary of their task,
Their stern warnings shrouding us in gloom:
"Implore God's mercy for your evil ways,
They're the cause of misery and doom"

But Life has always held suffering and pain,
Long before the term "sin" was defined;
Most of what we do is ingrained in us,
Meaning this is how we were designed

How could a creator not be aware
Of each imperfection, each defect?
Let us lay the blame right where it belongs:
On the shoulders of the Architect!

We steal, we hate, we **** for no reason,
And so we must don the judge's robe,
Enforcing our laws, rendering punishment .....
We're the stewards of this hapless globe

Fear's ponderous stone must be rolled away
Before your thoughts can exit the door
Of the prison that holds your mind hostage,
Granting it swift wings to leap and soar!

I've been in that tower, shackled to lies,
Anointed with the oil of deceit;
But Truth kept vigil with me all the while,
Waiting, curled in a ball at my feet

It cried "Unfold me, pick me up, hold me!
I'm the key that can unlock your mind,"
I heeded the voice, then ran from my cell,
Leaving fear and deceit far behind

Then I saw life for what it really is:
Random happiness and random grief,
We laugh, we cry, we suffer, then we die,
Only in love do we find relief

So don't preach to me of sin and God's wrath,
Such idle threats trouble me no more;
And to discourage future intruders,
I've hung "Do Not Disturb" on my door!

In a corner of my heart there dwells a pain
That thoughts of you awaken each day;
Purposely, I provoke it, then sigh in vain,
Knowing there will be a price to pay

In a corner of my heart there is a poem,
Born of each kiss and each solemn vow;
Loving you as I did they could fill a tome --
But poems your love inspired mock me now

What good is love if the happiness it brings
Turns into a pageantry of pain,
And the song of love the heart blissfully sings
Becomes parting's sorrowful refrain?

Without love, no comfort waits at end of day,
Just memories, unwilling to depart;
(Was it wrong to keep one flower from love's bouquet,
Hidden in a corner of my heart?)

In a corner of my heart my expressions
Of true and faithful love sit and cry;
Unable to absorb the transgressions
Your love brought, they're mute, without reply

So many tears have fallen, forging this chain
That won't permit memories  to depart;
And I can find no way to suppress the pain
Now filling each corner of my heart

Winter has settled in my garden,
Why did I not see the frost arrive?
Ashamed, I begged the flowers' pardon,
But the roses are barely alive

As I lift each flower, the petals fall
Upon the ground that once nurtured them;
Summer's calm became a wintry squall,
A chilling frost has weakened the stem

And now the ground is covered in ice,
The tender buds have withered and died;
For what purpose was their sacrifice?
Such loathsome things leave me mystified!

My heart has not shifted its season,
Steady in its clime it still remains,
Love's broken promise - the heart's treason -
Caused the killing frost and icy rains

Witnessing my joy and grief collide,
Swift-winged angels urged me to depart
This garden where once love had denied
Loneliness admittance to my heart

Why does the refulgent moon still crest
O'er that path where I first touched his face?
Where even Death would be deemed a guest
Were I to expire in Love's embrace

But to that garden I'll not return,
I've locked the gate and destroyed the key;
Time will quell my longings as they churn,
Time will heal this searing agony

Love has turned me bitter, though more wise,
Yet, the wisdom of love comes too late:
Each night, waiting for the moon to rise,
Darkness finds me standing at that gate

I walk rather slowly these days,
Without purposeful destiny,
No plane to catch, no train to board,
There's no one waiting for me

Time and I have severed our ties,
Now I roam unburdened and free;
No need to hurry home tonight,
No one's waiting there for me

Seasons still change, they come and go,
The tide's still carried out to sea,
Not much has changed at all, except ....
Now no one's waiting for me

I still talk to the moon at night,
But it's not like it used to be,
My tear-filled eyes reveal my plight:
I've no one waiting for me

It matters not when I get home,
Be it midnight, or half past three,
No one's concerned ..... did I mention .....
There's no one waiting for me

Believing in the God of Love,
Each night finds me on bended knee,
Wistfully glancing toward my bed ......
But no one's waiting for me