Love’s True End

When hearts meet and lips touch

And soft and supple bodies blend,

When in joy you give me your all,

Then will I sing of love’s true end.

WHB . . . 1956

Pictures by Sir Edward Burne-Jones (1833 – 1898) . . . ‘The Heart of the Rose’
Tapestry design, inspired by Chaucer’s adaptation of the medieval French
‘Le Romaunt de la Rose’

A Vision Of Love

Do you remember the first time we met? 
A long time ago but hard to forget. 

Still so alive in my memory, 
The feed to my every reverie. 

Do you remember that first ever kiss, 
When soft lips touched in newfound bliss? 

Raw hearts first bled in ecstasy, 
The thrill of our conjoined energy. 

Do  you remember that first night of obsession
Love fully felt, all fervour, all passion

The need for each other at last fulfilled 
The essence of joy in conjunction distilled. 

All those memories now, facing reality,
Time and circumstance have brought finality. 

The last test awaits, giving pause for decision, 
Oh, let it be you who completes the Vision.

 

 

 

SCROOGE … A Meditation

‘Scrooge’ – WHB: Black ink, 2017

 

What the dickens does it mean?
Well let me paint for you the scene;

For love came down at Christmas time
To this I pen a gentle rhyme.

I know that Scrooge was lean and mean,
Counted every single bean.

But visitations from the past
Meant that he would learn at last

That stinginess was no way cool,
No joy at all in being cruel.

Life is not there to be destroyed, 
It is given to be enjoyed.

At Christmas we should not be stressed,
But let us remember the dispossessed,

And hope for all, what Scrooge discovers,
To open our hearts to the pain of others.

 

NOTE:   The expression “What the dickens?” does not have any connection with Charles Dickens.  It pre-dates him by at least two centuries and was in fact used by Shakespeare in his “Merry Wives of Windsor”, ( Act III, Scene II ) where ‘dickens’ is used as a euphemism for ‘the devil’ . . . “I cannot tell what the dickens his name is”. 

Then Will I Sing

Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones (1833-1898) … St.Cecilia – Stained Glass – 2nd Presbyterian Church, Chicago

 

When time at last has caught its fearful breath
And I have cause to think again of you,
I will return to our far distant past
And then relive those old desires anew.

For when in trepidation I now pray
For health and strength in my remaining years,
Memories flood back of youthful days
When you and I brushed eyes and shed some tears.

Now, when hearts may meet and lips may touch,
And old less supple bodies bond in bliss,
Now, when you give to me your self in love,
Then will I sing and long remember this.

That youth and age together make a life,
Related sides of but a single page.
This truth becomes at last to us apparent,
Allows our hearts in love to re-engage.

Love’s True End

 

When hearts meet and lips touch

And soft and supple bodies blend,

When in joy you give your all,

Then will I sing of love’s true end.

 

Pictures by Sir Edward Burne-Jones (1833 – 1898) . . . ‘The Heart of the Rose’
Tapestry design, inspired by Chaucer’s adaptation of the medieval French
‘Le Romaunt de la Rose’