In my heart I held one "I Love You",
O, how it longed to be heard!
Three words that I guarded so closely
Soon grew restless, like a captive bird

Three words, anxious to unlock the door
Of my heart so they could flee
To find refuge in another heart,
And form one love for eternity

But these words cannot be flung in jest --
Too rare and precious are they,
Too easily could they be seduced
And then used in some deceitful way

One night, my heart behaved carelessly,
Leaving the door's latch undone,
Acting on a whim, "I Love You" left,
And to a profane heart it did run

He said "Trust me, I'll cherish these words,
I swear by Heaven above you,"
Convinced by his passion, I succumbed,
But he defiled my last "I Love You"

Three words, wrapped in a scarlet mantle,
Would never be repeated;
On a blazing pyre they found their peace,
Their purpose so cruelly defeated

I stood in awe of the sunset
Watching its rare beauty unfold,
Ray by ray, heavenly hues changed
From orange, to crimson, to gold

I saw silhouettes of leafless trees
Raising their bare arms to the sky,
As if to praise some entity ---
Or perhaps preparing to die

For all living things must succumb
Sooner or later ....... it's destiny;
Suddenly I saw the reason
We surrender so willingly

Now it was starting to make sense --
The crucial role Misery plays;
Might it be an act of mercy
That pain and sorrow fills our days?

Flora and fauna share the same fate
As does every being on Earth;
Predators, drought, sickness and blight
Stalk us from the moment of birth

Would any of us welcome Death
If our domain were Paradise?
How could we forsake happiness
If sad tears never blurred our eyes?

Knowing the anguish of loneliness .....
Constant, unsubdued by time;
Dour pain - mental and physical -
All the while faint bells of hope chime

Hope - that vain and fruitless longing
That augments our pain 'til we break,
Finally leaving us to welcome
That impending trip we'll all take

Weak and tired we concede defeat,
And with our last breath we implore
Death's guidance across Life's threshold,
And down that divine corridor

How we welcome this departure
As from pain and suffering we flee;
But what angst we'd feel leaving Eden .......
So I'm thankful for Misery!

How little I care for rubies and pearls
Or the sparkle of a diamond ring,
But when a man speaks tender words of love,
These are the jewels that make my heart sing!

No matter the obstacles in my path --
Be they copious as stars above me;
All I ask is that at my journey's end
There'll be a man waiting to love me

Now I've heard women say in angry tones
When with their lover they have just tiffed:
"He thinks he's special, God's gift to women!"
Well, I think of each man as a gift

His lips, his arms, every part of a man
Are all treasures that women adore;
What else do we need on a stormy night,
Or when winter's winds howl at the door?

Yes, I see each man as a precious gift.
(Perhaps I'm being foolish) ..... yet still
I know of nothing more divine than love,
And a man's touch -  an undefined thrill

With proper intent, I love every man!
(Forgive me if I seem indiscreet)
But God's wisdom shines in His grand design---
Without each other, we're incomplete

And when lonely nights prove unbearable,
We then see the glory of His plan:
Man will rush toward woman with arms outstretched .......
For woman is also God's gift to man!

The morning's dew moistens my eyes --
No, these are not tears that you see!
(Cleverly we learn to mask our pain
When Love's not what it pretends to be)

A lonely wanderer, I strayed
Into a hopeless reverie;
So completely mesmerized was I
By Love's sweet and haunting melody

Throwing all caution to the wind,
I rushed where Angels fear to tread,
Ready to worship at Love's altar ---
What despair to find Deceit instead!

Yet, my heart cannot forget how
Deceit, in its cunning disguise
Took me in its arms and carried me
Through those golden gates of paradise

Now the moon says this day must end ---
Put aside those sad memories;
Tell me, how do I dispel these thoughts
That invade my heart like refugees?

A cold wind blew across my heart,
Then I heard an angelic choir
Prompting me to cast that tear-stained page
From the Book of Love into the fire

Do not come gently into my dark night!
Intrude boldly on this loneliness
That creeps through my veins like a killing blight,
And no words of comfort can suppress

Blast the prison walls of this tortured mind,
Setting it free from its doleful plight;
Send it soaring toward realms yet unassigned
In its quest to find Love's guiding light

Pound loudly upon my heart's bolted door,
Shout to stir and wake these sleeping dreams;
Let them once again walk Hope's blissful shore,
And wade through Euphoria's glistening streams

All the bridges of caution must be burned,
Unfurl audacity's fearless claws;
Brashness is welcome where Love is concerned,
For Love fulfills the greatest of God's laws!

I searched for Love in my garden,
Parting each flower's petals,
I searched through briars and brambles.
Pricking my fingers on the nettles

I searched for Love in the heavens
Where God and the angels are;
While floating on a cloud, I searched,
Only to bump my head on a star

I searched for Love at the seashore,
Scouring each tide, high and low;
When a wave carried me away
I almost drowned in the undertow

I searched for Love in the desert,
Sifting sand through my fingers,
Burned by the sun, choking from thirst
(The torment of it all still lingers)

I searched for Love among the ruins
Of heartaches I overcame;
I found not a trace ..... all was gone,
Not a single dream was left to claim

If searching for Love brings such pain,
What can be done about it?
Nothing! but continue to search ---
It's more painful living without it

Perhaps you are not aware that many of our recent poems are not being seen by all members. I discovered this a few months ago when I was asked to "log in." I have to log in every week, and I don't know why.  Anyway, I had visited the site of a member who told me he had posted a new poem.  I read the poem, then realized I could not comment because I was not logged in.  After I did that, his latest poems disappeared - nowhere to be found.  Well, the next time I had to log in, before I did that, I checked out various other sites and found the same problem - all latest poems, going back as far as 4 months - were not visible to me after I logged in.  I have notified management at least 3 times of this problem, but received no acknowledgement, and the problem goes on. So many times I get Error 502 and cannot gain access to the site for days.  So if any members have noticed their readership and comments diminishing, this problem may very well be affecting you, too.  Perhaps if we all "storm the citadel" and complain enough, this problem will be resolved.  Good luck to us all!