For Love Presented by Ongoing Poetry Contributor Guy Graybill - Also, Love Enough! - The Prize - Nan

 

FOR LOVE 

(To the tune of “Simplice,” by Tchaikovsky)

Let’s steal away,

 To someplace where we can love;

 Where breezes are cool

 And passions will rule,

 While stars glitter high above.

 Let’s steal a kiss,

 A kiss that goes on and on;

 With boldness that grips

 Our hungering lips,

 While night fades into the dawn.

 Let’s find a nook

 Where I’ll be alone with you;

 Just hidden away

 An hour or a day;

 Or maybe a week or two.

 Let’s dare to dream:

 A dream that we’ll make come true.

 We’ll welcome the chance

 To make our romance

 A love that is always new.

 Let’s take a vow

 To live, evermore, as one.

 With light from above

 We’ll make the white dove

 The symbol for all we’ve done . . . For love.

💖

LOVE ENOUGH

 Yes, I’m a Hindu lover Sir

 And I love Nordics, just as well.

 I am a Negro (Black) lover, too;

 And ev’ry Semite, truth to tell.

Plus ev’ry Oriental type

 And natives of the U.S.A.

 And Eskimo and all the blends,

 Such as the oceans’ grand array.

 Perhaps I’ve got a malady; 

A trait that’s ever here and done.

 Simplistic, yes; but very true: 

I love God’s people, ev’ry one.

 What need to justify this trait?

 This observation’s not profound:

 When prejudice is kept at bay,

 There’s love enough to go around!

👼💓👼

💘

THE PRIZE

 

She, the white woman who taught in the village.

 He, the wild warrior, eas’ly tamed by her eyes.

 They lived together, apart from their people.

 Yes, they lived as outcasts; but they had the prize.

 They saw the glances, the looks and the hatred.

 They sensed the meanness that pure envy inspires. Then each would look in the eyes of the other

 And they would smile, knowing they had the prize.

Each day they thanked their Creator and Maker, While enduring the pain from the meddlesome lies. Each gained more strength from the love of the other; Still sharing a smile, knowing they had the prize.

Sadly, by moonlight, some bigots attacked them, Thus, leaving the couple to face their demise. Weakly, each searched for the eyes of the other. Tho’ dying, they smiled, knowing they had the prize. . . .

💞 

Nan

Of course, there is sorrow

And, yes, there are tears

For you, who grew sweeter

Through all of our years...

Your smile ever lingered

A joy I now miss

Although you grew weaker

Pale lips blew a kiss.

This pen I'm discarding

Our match to renew

I'll soon be abiding,

Forever with you. . . .

💗

Thank you for sharing your love, Guy

Gabby

 

John Herlihy Four New Poems - On My Way - Let It Rain - Message of the Moon - We Pretend Not to Notice

 

On My Way

by John Herlihy

People ask me why

Why do I do what I do

Why, why and again why

Why not rest with what I knew

And I can only answer them

Why? I don’t know why

Why rest with what I knew

I gotta go where I’ve not been

Until I can say to myself

I’ve come this far

And I’m done with coming

I can’t go no further

Now do you know why

Well then, get up and go

Go where you want to go

For the sun has risen

You can stay home

In your rocking chair

But I’m heading out

On my way

- - - - -

Copyright © John Herlihy

Sunday 12 October 2025

I love this, John!

I feel just like you,

Only difference I do my traveling

With books about all things...

Do what you gotta do!

Gabby

Let It Rain

by John Herlihy

Birds care little whether or not it rains,

Sit on tree branches, no one complains.

You don’t see a bird under an umbrella,

Looking pedantic, the brave little fella.

Let’s take the example, a thing to learn,

Why worry, without need for concern.

This question of rain needs addressing,

What real bother lies in such blessing.

Clouds rush overhead as if on a whim,

While we here below try to look prim.

The last thing we want is to get all wet,

All drenched to the skin, feeling upset.

Do birds make fuss with a wet feather,

No, they endure whatever the weather.

The next time it rains, I say let it come,

Beating on me softly like a gentle drum.

- - - - -

Copyright © John Herlihy

Sunday 18 January 2026

John, after weeks of nothing but snow

I'd love to have rain come and wash it away

Also, bring showers to bring spring again!

Thanks for the reminder of what is to come...

Gabby

Message of the Moon by John Herlihy                             What is the message of the moon,                           But the waxing of its days.                     What is the symbol of the moon,                  But the inscrutable waning of its ways. A message we every night encounter, In its nightly passage across the sky. Stars rained down as from a fountain, We gaze into the night sky with a sigh. The moon waxing large with its borrowed light, Across the vast wreckage of its ravaged face. Without the moon night wouldn't be truly night, Nothing in heaven and earth could take its place. One night a month arrives the new moon, Blended into the darkness and impossible to see. Like being in remote recesses of a darkened room, Waiting for the moon in such a dark ebony sea. Waxing and waning on those lonely nights, Our lonely moon fixed within our lonely sights. On its journey through the night as a ghostly echo, Singing melancholy songs of sadness and joy in solo. - - - - - Copyright © John Herlihy                                                    Friday 3 October 2025                                                              As soon as I saw your beautiful picture.                     I thought of the song Moon River                          but wasn't sure it worked 'til I saw             your last line about songs of sadness and joy...                                Really enjoyed this one...         We Pretend Not to Notice                          by John Herlihy We pretend not to notice certain things, Other things we pretend not to care. Just take it all in whatever life brings, Protected by a wink and a prayer. I go around hoping no one will notice, My crisp white shirt worn without flare. Just another weed in a pond amid lotus, People walk by without needing to stare. At a party I always wear something bland. As a protection against the outer world, No flamboyant style inviting a reprimand. All of my banners I keep tightly furled, Attending to business never to be noticed. Still hoping, just a little, someone will care, - - - - - Copyright © John Herlihy Sunday 5 October 2025 John, you must be somewhat of an introvert, just as I for this poem was the male version of my thoughts I'm so happy to have found your words So often they speak the words in my heart... and probably so many others... Thank you for your ongoing sharing... God Bless Gabby