Eight chimes of the clock announced the new day
As I struggled to get up from my bed;
Could this be morning? It's so dark and drear .......
But that's what the clock said

And so I arose, still numb to the truth,
'Til I heard the whisperings of woe and dread
Repeating "He's gone."  Words I can't accept .......
But that's what my heart said

At once, his solemn promise was revived:
"Our hearts, tethered by Love's unyielding thread
Cannot be parted," and so I believed .......
Because that's what he said

Love was the sum of all things beautiful,
Near my heart, woe and sorrow dared not tread;
And I know his love was deep as the sea,
Because that's what he said

No, dear reader, his love was not fickle,
He now sleeps in Heaven's celestial bed,
While I share endless nights with Loneliness .......
Because that's what Fate said!

They say that Love is but one step from Heaven,
And about Love there is not much else to tell;
But in its absence, our steps are misguided.
How true ...... I've already got one foot in Hell

This thing called Death is but a return
To the soil from whence we came,
The soft clay of this Earth, our components,
Formed into shapes, then given a name

The dust we see floating on sunbeams
Is the soul in disarray,
But when arranged in the proper order
Molds us into who we are today

How we cherish these bodies of clay,
Though we don't get to choose them,
Defective or whole, in sickness and health,
When Death calls, how we fear to lose them

Proud as the peacock we wear our flesh --
Fine particles of matter!
But Death carries us all to the same fate:
We rot, and the particles scatter

Our value diminishes to naught
When we realize this truth:
"From dust we came, to dust we shall return."
(Though you may find my ramblings uncouth)

And those who shed tears at our graveside
Cry for their own destiny,
For well they know that they too shall become
A speck of dust in eternity

So many words of love flooding the atmosphere,
Anxiously I wait, yet not one reaches my ear;
Endless tweets and emails go soaring through the skies,
Amorous verses, but none intended for my eyes

Charming refrains, scattering love all around me,
I just don't understand ...... why hasn't love found me?
Am I perhaps a spirit that no one can see?
**** you, Fate, for this unwarranted cruelty!

Empty arms abound, yet none offer to hold me --
What joy is found in an embrace! (so they've told me);
So many love-filled hearts, yet none to call my own,
A world filled with people, yet here I sit, alone

How long has it been since you've heard
Someone declaring their love for you?
Why are we not prone to say the word
That removes clouds tinged with sorrow's hue?

If you love someone, tell them so,
Bring a banquet to them, served with wine,
From their hungry hearts the thanks will flow
As on love's sweetest verses they dine

If you feel love, say it today,
For tomorrow is promised to none;
If you can chase but one cloud away,
Sorrow will be lost, and new hope won

Say it today, empty your heart ---
When those thoughts are suppressed, they might die;
Release the joy loving words impart,
Pull back the bow, let love's arrow fly

Say it today, make someone smile,
Erasing both despair and malice;
Give them reason to find life worthwhile,
Let them drink deeply from love's chalice

Say it today -- throw a lifeline
To a heart drowning in misery,
Say those loving words that ring divine,
And send them ......... Special Delivery!

I often wonder, when Death seals my eyes,
Who will read my poems, who will analyze
Every word and thought that dripped from my pen
As angels wept and softly sighed Amen

Many eyes will see just meaningless words
That flounder in their minds like wounded birds;
But dare I hope for but one astute heart
Able to translate my crude form of art!

While reading my words, he'll breathe a deep sigh,
Sensing each torment as it marches by:
Loneliness, with many a sleepless night,
Tears that clouded the moon's radiant light,
Prayers intended to shake Heaven's rafters
But never yielding "happy ever afters,"
Carefully planned dreams, all destined to fail
Like ill-fated plots in a fairy tale

Will these rhyming words so carefully wrought
Clearly illustrate the love that I  sought?
Then down his sorrowful face tears will flow,
Having realized the depths of my woe

And if his tears were to dampen the soil
Where I lie in rest, set free from life's toil,
Will I know he took pity on my plight,
Thus granting peace in my eternal night?

Once again I'm sailing alone at dusk,
No companion to help rig the mast;
So much pain accrued in my solitude,
The lonely hour approaches fast

Gathering clouds conceal the moon's bright glow,
Now I know all too well what this means,
The dark shadows fall, then I hear the call ......
The Court of Loneliness convenes

I see the stars lighting the firmament,
Yet, where I dwell, all is bleak and dour;
With my heartstrings torn, and my life forlorn,
No beacon lights my lonely hour

Was ever a chain of woe forged so strong .....
How did loneliness acquire such power?
The clock chimes, but how strange - time does not change,
Once again it's the lonely hour

I'm lost in a forest of broken dreams,
Searching for Love's enchanted bower;
Then, in the distance, with dark persistence,
A bell tolls the lonely hour

Is there no escape, no place I can hide!
Why do bells toll from every tower?
How can I forget what comes at sunset ......
The torment of the lonely hour!