Love Poem

You may be sorry you asked, Frank...

I have offered to feed you my spirit
in exchange for a leash on your soul,
a moment of body to body
in half-hearted search to be whole.

You reach out, still tied to your freedom;
I cling and confuse it with care.
We honor the contract as written -
the other will always be there.

What price do I pay for pursuing
a love only I can perceive?
Pardon me as I pull the last ounce of
the flesh from the bones that still breathe.

What price do you pay to be lonely -
to avoid love yet need it so much
that you struggle to keep on embracing
the friendship that ends when we touch?

A delicate balance of wishes;
it's hard to tell losses from gains.
My prayers for a shift in my favor...
your hopes that the balance remains.

(c) 1985 Joel M. Frye

Reviews

[FJ Davis]

This poem is a wealth of perceptions which, unfortunately, often help everyone but the perceiver. Such deep insights, such rational assessments do not necessarily make one's personal relationships unbridled joy--indeed, they frequently have exactly the opposite effect.
Gift or curse, you have it, Joel. And I suspect that, for a very long time, you've been trying to find a way to live with it.
Great piece!

[Valentine]

This is absolutely a fabulous write..One of the best I have read in a while..Great job..Valentine

[Joel M Frye]

Sometimes teddy...sometimes grizzly.

[LA Lorena]

This is beautiful Joel. You may be right about being a bear...a teddy bear! ;)

[Neva Flores Smith - Cha..]

Trying to gain the love of someone who loves another. A heartbreaking position to be in. This is a wonderful piece Joel.

[Lily Mae]

Speechless.. omg... there is so much truth in this..."the friendship that ends when we touch?" so true.. I think you do have all the answers Bear lol.. you've been holding out on me.. ;) x