Elation Leads to the Deflation of Love (From the epic poem based on my novel, "The Year of Yearning.")

He sensed heartache in the wake
Of a single great date
A fate like eternal burning
In his first year of yearning

A cruel lesson for lovers' learning:
Matter that comes together in the heart
Is destined to come apart--no exceptions!
As time relative to touch
Not only leads to love's elation
But also, its rendered deflation

The decay started on the Monday
When she ignored him in the hallway
Her black turtleneck
An obvious hickey coverup
Saturn, the goddess of sadness, weighing upon his shoulder
When all he wanted to do was hold her

His sorrow wasted the week away
With the hollow of acoustic shadows
Plagued by vague moments
Between thick ticks of Dali's warped clocks

In the twilight zone of alone
He picked up the phone
Only to hear the dial tone
Listening with self doubt
Until the line timed out
And the howler tone dinned in his ear
Like a siren coming near
Alerting him to stem perverting
A brief gift of ecstasy
Into monumental misery          

Risking Agony for the Ecstasy of Love

I recently read an article in Philosophy Now magazine called Ecstasy Through Self-Destruction, by Danelle Gallo.   Through the works of a French philosopher (Georges Bataille) and a French painter (Yves Klien), Ms. Gallo's essay espouses that ecstasy is achieved by stripping ourselves down to the void of pure experience.  To me this sounds like the state of bliss I experience during meditation, when I reduce myself to a breathing entity, devoid of noisy thoughts, left with the ecstasy of simply being.

Falling in love also seems to involve degrees of self-destruction.  Isn't it true we sacrifice a part of ourselves when we fall madly in love?  Talk about risking agony!  What if you have to sacrifice too much of yourself to maintain the relationship?  What if your love goes unrequited?  All that self-sacrificing for nothing!  And yet many singer/songwriters have found beauty even in this sort of sad void.

I nearly fell off my barstool when I read the last two sentences of Danelle's article because it depicted my novel so succinctly:

"The potential for ecstasy justifies embarking on an agonizing journey.  One thing is certain: we are nothing if we do not try."

Whoa!  To me, this couldn't be more true and sums up a life well lived.  I bet there are those of you who disagree, maybe too badly burnt at one time or another in your quest for ecstasy.  But what about the cliche, "It's better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all"?  Perhaps it depends on the degree of agony we experience when in pursuit of ecstasy.  In the end, we are nothing if we don't try.  Wait a minute!  Isn't "nothing" a type of void?  Apparently, not all voids lead to ecstasy; not trying is the only way to lose for sure.    

Love Letters and Poems: Purging One's Heart Upon Paper

Have you ever given or received a love letter?  Back in high school somebody slipped a racy note into my locker.  I never did find out who wrote it but spent much time thinking about who might have.  My novel revolves around such a note including a painstaking poem, leading to a violent confrontation, as well as, the most intense sexual suspense imaginable!  This is the poem Jo Martini slips into Laura Needler's locker:

As seen in my dream, I confess

You thrived as a beautiful Princess

Upon a stately steed,

 Between supreme oaks 

 You paid no heed

 Cloaked by twilight

 Galloping at top speed 

 Toward a moonless night

 Your hair flowed upon the wake

  Of growing shadows along a lake

 In a mystical mood, I awoke 

And did conclude, the myriad ways

Of your vast pulchritude  

      Might never be sufficiently praised

      Though the universe of my heart 

       Would strive, utterly enchanted 

        If by chance a chance is granted  

Please share your experiences with love letters.  Would love to hear about them!

Shakespeare's Comparison as a Compliment can Lead to some Very Special Treatment

Not long ago I read Shakespeare's Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day? I found the sonnet so beautiful and powerful, it choked me up!  I mean, what a concept.  Take something that's amazingly beautiful in it's own right, describe it in detail, all the while letting a lover know she's even more beautiful than that!

Let's try it, off the cuff: Shall I compare thee to a starry sky?  Your eyes bedazzle as the bejeweled stars, like an ongoing dance, found sparkling evermore above the horizon of your fond smile, even more beautiful than the nocturnal canvass, radiating through my heart in eternal love for you.  

Of course, Prince's song Nothing Compares 2 U, sung beautifully by Siead O'conner, generalizes the technique of comparison to encompass everything, e.g nothing compares to your beauty, your love, your friendship, etc.  Though I love this song, Shakespeare's method of using a specific reference (a summer's day) seems to engage the imagination more than Prince's generalization.

Give it a try if you want to.  Sharing a sensually poignant comparison can lead to some very special treatment!  Besides a summer's day or a starry sky, what works well as a comparison to a woman's beauty?  What might women use to compare how they feel about a boyfriend or husband?

One Morning with Morag

After one more hug she said

Loath to leave our warm bed

Such moments of pleasure

After one more hug she said

Loath to leave our warm bed

Such moments are treasured

She slipped her leg over me

Love locked by the nook of her knee

Her hair fell over my shoulder

Oh yeah, do I love to hold her

Her cheek nestled upon my chest

Was always how I slept best

Now, this might sound mighty odd

But she made me feel like a king

AND A GOD!

We breathed tranquil and deep

Fell into a blissful sleep

In a dream like a time machine

A sentimental dating scene

In Banff we had a laugh or two

First time we said, "I love you"

Holdin' hands walkin' down the street

She made me feel taller than ten feet!

Late at night in my big blue car

We kissed beneath the shooting stars

Turned on and gettin' down

To Sergeant Pepper and Pet Sounds

Time measured by touch

I loved her so much

Time measured by touch

I still love her that much

Alas the bliss blaster bared in my ear

Not that either one of us cared

I slapped the clock to turn it off

Asked what time she wanted up

After one more hug she said

Loath to leave our warm bed

Such moments of pleasure

Time measured by touch

I still love her that much