Though we often come together wonderfully,
I lament that she seems comforted by distance.
She prefers to “keep her options open,”
“To see what else is out there” is her insistence.
One hand pulls me in for a sweet kiss & embrace,
Her blue eyes betraying her heart’s authentic pleasure.
With the other, she keeps me at arm’s length –
To prevent the unearthing of some hidden treasure.
For every time she hums the tune to “Somebody,”
She whistles the song “I’m Like a Bird.”
Though “Love and Happiness” intrigues her,
She seems to hear only every other word.
She opens up, but not too much;
We see each other, but not too soon;
She tells me secrets, but not too many;
I can have the sun, but not the moon.
She may fear closeness will leave her trapped;
In union she will lose too much of her self.
A slippery slope to an inescapable commitment;
The marble statue of her body would melt.
Admittedly, “the pillars of the temple stand not together;”
Enough distance is needed to see some contrast.
But fear of togetherness must be tempered with courage,
For sand ever flows through life’s fragile hourglass…
I fear our path remains outside my sphere of control;
The risk of loss or rejection looms ominously overhead.
A lengthy investment of feelings can whither in a moment;
I fear to behold the rose I held so carefully turned out to be dead.
If you liked “The Rose,” try “To Have a Home” on for size.
“The Rose” © Jason Merchey, 1999-2018
