Don't sing idle love songs into the wind --
A distraught heart might be lurking near;
How awkward when you attempt to rescind
Loving words they were not meant to hear

Tread lightly lest you awaken the beast
That's held captive in some desperate heart,
When from its ******* Hope has been released,
It becomes fair game for Cupid's dart

Those crumbs of Love you've capriciously tossed
Might be hungrily devoured in haste;
Once that bridge to Paradise has been crossed,
O, what pain when steps must be retraced

Exercise due caution when you declare
Unwavering love to a forlorn heart;
Deceitful words, though delivered with flair,
Carry the sting of a poisoned dart

Words of love are the messengers of hope
That allow earthbound hearts to take flight;
But lies and deceit weave the fatal rope
That binds lonely hearts to their sad plight

Bravely the sun announces night has flown,
Its blinding rays far and wide it casts;
Reluctantly the moon descends its throne .......
Nothing lasts

Contentedly you'll hear the robin sing,
Her egg-filled nest she proudly broadcasts,
Then one sad morning her fledglings take wing .......
Nothing lasts

The withered rose that once nourished the bees
Now treats them like bewildered outcasts,
Her drops of nectar no longer appease .......
Nothing lasts

Sad hearts rejoice when Love knocks at their door,
So glad to forget their shattered pasts;
Soon they're holding hands with despair once more .......
Nothing lasts

For some, life holds honey;  for others, rue,
And then suddenly the trumpet blasts,
The Angel of Death comes to claim his due .......
Nothing lasts

Some dedicate a lifetime to wealth gain,
But I find such pursuits to be quite vain;
From Fortune's footpath I would gladly stray
If only to know love at end of day

Just one love to fill all my lonely hours --
To scoff at solitude's crumbling towers;
I'd be like raw clay in the potter's hands,
Waiting to be molded to his demands

I'd guide the weary drifter to my shore
Where he'd find wondrous regions to explore;
Through Winter's wrath he'd feel the breath of Spring,
On my deserted isle he would be king

I'd be his starlight and his morning sun
And assure him his wandering days were done;
So in my dark despair I beg of Fate
To send Love and re-open Eden's gate

And this time there'd be no forbidden tree,
Our love would change the course of destiny;
For when the Garden of Love has flowered,
Its tempting fruits are meant to be devoured

Life would be a bouquet of poetry,
And the song of the birds a symphony;
The simplest things in life would be divine .......
If only, O, if only love were mine!

Some dedicate a lifetime to wealth gain,
But I find such pursuits to be quite vain;
From Fortune's footpath I would gladly stray
If only to know love at end of day

Just one love to fill all my lonely hours --
To scoff at solitude's crumbling towers;
I'd be like raw clay in the potter's hands,
Waiting to be molded to his demands

I'd guide the weary drifter to my shore
Where he'd find wondrous regions to explore;
Through Winter's wrath he'd feel the breath of Spring,
On my deserted isle he would be king

I'd be his starlight and his morning sun
And assure him his wandering days were done;
So in my dark despair I beg of Fate
To send Love and re-open Eden's gate

And this time there'd be no forbidden tree,
Our love would change the course of destiny;
For when the Garden of Love has flowered,
Its tempting fruits are meant to be devoured

Life would be a bouquet of poetry,
And the song of the birds a symphony;
The simplest things in life would be divine .......
If only, O, if only love were mine!

One night, while walking in drear solitude,
Delicious thoughts of love dared to intrude;
Soon they overtook like a climbing vine
And I felt a warm hand slip into mine,
Then a kiss gently brushed against my cheek,
But not a word of protest did I speak;
Desire and common sense started to brawl,
Then a shadowy figure confirmed it all;
As I walked faster the shadow kept pace,
Dare I look directly into its face?
It mattered not what that look might reveal,
Love from any source is welcomed with zeal;
On I walked in a delirious state,
Convinced some angel had altered my fate;
The moon had been observing this strange scene,
Judgmental, determined to intervene:
"Foolish woman! you're born to walk alone,
That shadow that stirs your heart is your own!
You're beguiled by dreams that can never be,
End this pretense and face reality!"
How cruel of the moon ...... and I told him so;
The curtain fell, and thus ended the show

How the thirst for love can rack the heart!
"Just a drop will do," it softly screams;
Ah, but what solace could one drop impart
To this torrid wasteland of parched dreams?

My gasping heart is struggling for breath
As panic stirs the dust of despair;
A cry for compassion (a plea for death?)
Leaves my lips as I kneel down in prayer

But prayers do not comfort my distress --
Pleadings turn profane upon my tongue,
Prodding me to silence my loneliness
And trudge on with my sorrows unsung

But my thirsting heart begs to be heard,
And its yearnings I dare not suppress;
(What inspires these rhymes and each dauntless word?
The obscure blessings of loneliness!)

Loneliness and its unsated thirst
Cause thoughts to take flight on tattered wings,
And the rationale of a heart accursed
Results in the worst imaginings

Now the hour's late, soon my sun will set,
Hope is waning like a smoldering fire,
And my thirst for love now provokes regret
For each empty dream and vain desire

My search for love was an ill-fated dream
That drifted on the wings of despair
As Life slowly unveiled its tragic theme ---
And so it found its destiny there

As I wandered the Trail of Solitude
Down that footpath so well-known to me,
A tender "I love you" dared to intrude
Upon my intense melancholy

I reeled upon hearing Love's treasured words,
Thinking they were intended for me;
Desire bolted like a flock of wild birds
Obeying the call of destiny

Seeds of love lying dormant in my heart
Suddenly burst forth into full bloom;
From the lonely caste I'd been set apart,
Filling the air was Love's sweet perfume

But haste is the enemy of a heart
Wandering in the Garden of Despair,
Toward that tree laden with fruits it will dart,
Ignoring the signs that warn "Beware"

A starving heart will perceive a grand feast
Where only a few crumbs have been tossed;
By the time the pangs of hunger have ceased
Common sense and caution are long lost

What joy to think Love had found me at last
And despair had taken its last toll!
But long ago the fateful die was cast
And my name erased from Heaven's scroll

Now hope and dreams have long since turned to dust,
Yet, this moment haunts my memory;
Love had come so close ...... Alas! it was just
A case of mistaken identity