It's been a while since Love came to call,
O, to hear its footsteps just once more!
So I've asked the moon to shine brighter
On the pathway leading to my door

But the moon told me Love needs no light --
Down the darkest paths it finds its way,
For Love itself is the light that guides
Wandering feet that at times tend to stray

O, sagacious moon, you've earned your crown!
Guardian of the melancholy hour;
Can you tell me why Love hesitates
To unchain me from this lonely tower?  

Has my heart been deemed an unfit host?
Absurd! Warmth and tenderness abound!
Chambers exude tolerance and peace . . .
Where might a more perfect nest be found?

An old weeping willow keeps its watch,
Straining to hear Love's knock at my door;
And it weeps with me throughout the day --
But when night falls, I cry so much more

No birds violate the evening's calm --
They've no reason to burst forth in song;
Filled with pity, they hear my laments,
Chiding Love for tarrying too long

I draw comfort now from memories,
Memories that time cannot erase;
But Hope's candle flaunts a radiant flame,
Just in case Love's listening  . . .  just in case

Sometimes when I find I can't keep pace
With Life's demands and its treachery,
I seek refuge in my favorite place . . .
The other side of reality

What joy when my daydreams carry me
Like a hungry lion to its lair,
Into that land where passion runs free
And wild fantasies lurk everywhere

I can soar the heavens with the birds,
Or seek loving arms when nights are cold;
(You'll soon learn from my poetic words
My daydreams reveal desires quite bold)

O, how Love's fantasies flood this realm ---
Cupid flings his darts most recklessly!
Misery relinquishes the helm
Leaving me to drift Love's placid sea

And loneliness dares not trespass here
On this hallowed ground that Love has blest;
Though happiness wears a thin veneer,
Daydreams calm the heart's deepest unrest

So I flee to where elusive dreams  
Unfold their wings with temerity,
And I sate my thirst from Love's pure streams . . .
The other side of reality

Take a moment and listen to the birds
Broadcasting their gossip in warbled words:
Shrill are their cries when danger's lurking near,
But soft and sweet when they've nothing to fear

Every creature, no matter its station,
Has its method of communication;
With awe I observe their ability
To make known their thoughts with facility  

But is mankind not especially blest
With the volume of words at our behest?
If there's a message we wish to convey
We need only choose from our word bouquet

How fortunate to have at our command
Such power to make others understand
The pain we feel when Life thrusts its cruel spears,
And the night finds us overwhelmed by tears

Or the joy when Love spreads its golden  wings
And shelters our hearts from Earth's loathsome things;
So if you're glad or sad, let the world know it --
You've mastered the skill . . . you're a poet!

How I dread these intruders of the night ---
The restless ghosts of Love's extinguished light;
Knowing I'm alone (by Fate's cruel decree)
Here come the memories of you and me . . .

They start taunting me when no one's around --
Those lonely hours when by anguish I'm bound;
But is that not the task of memories --
To torture the mind and create unease?

They take delight in breaking down the door
To a painful past I'd rather ignore,
Reviving blissful hours of fantasy,
Like that summer night you whispered to me:

"I'll lay a blanket on the starlit sea,
And we'll drift away . . . just you and me."
Such ill-fated dreams, dressed in joyous disguise --
So hard to recall without tear-filled eyes

Most times these memories come without warning . . .
But time enough for tears in the morning.
It's time to sleep, so I'll turn out the light.
(Knowing my luck I'll dream of you tonight)

And tomorrow there'll be clouds to chase away
As I struggle to make it through the day.
How I wish Time would purge my memory . . .
Erasing all traces of you and me

How endearingly the flowers are held
In the arms of the nurturing soil;
Yet I'm condemned to walk without Love,
Wearied and spent by this hopeless toil

Confined behind bars of loneliness
I observe Love running wild and free;
What crime could warrant such punishment?
Even Hell knows no such agony

As the newborn babe that cannot speak
Cries out helplessly for what it needs,
So I cry for a harvest not granted,
. . . I cry for the unplanted seeds

And will Love's words remain unspoken?
Now the waves of Terror rise and fall!
Shall my heart stay an idle harbor . . .
Unworthy to be Love's port of call?

Live for today, just ignore tomorrow.
Why worry what the future may bring?
Nor dwell on a past that harbors sorrow.
For this day alone let the bells ring

While the hummingbird's feasting on nectar,
She's not concerned about foolish things ---
Tomorrow's plights don't seem to affect her
As she savors the gifts this day brings

So for every pleasure life sends your way,
Ring the bells and declare to the world
Those joyous moments that brightened your day.
(Who knows when Fate's wrath might be unfurled!)

And when Fate comes to sate its dark desire,
Grasp Fortitude's lyre and gently strum,
For while the dove sings with the sylvan choir,
Misery draws near, beating its drum

But mute that drum with hymns of gratitude ---
(Does the sun not always vanquish night?)
Tally the blessings this day has accrued . . .
Then let the bells ring with wild delight!

Such loneliness permeates my days,
No one seems to notice I exist;
I'm as transparent as the sun's first rays
Intermingling with the morning mist

I'm as obscure as a grain of sand
Clinging to the ocean's lonely shore;
Should a wild wind fling me to some strange land,
Who would notice that I'm here no more?

Has my frame decayed and turned to dust
And my restless spirit unaware
That I'm just a ghost tumbling in a gust
Of the pitiful wind of despair?

Too long I've haunted this lonely sphere
Where it seems no one's aware of me;
Let there be a soft whispering in my ear:
"Claim your peace, dear soul, you've been set free"

And how eager I'd be to depart
From this cruel world I've come to deplore!
Yet, if love would lay its hands on my heart . . .
I'd consider staying a few years more