Loving Enough For Two
by Michael Doyle

It was easy enough to feel slighted
As off in the distance, he sighted
Enough to evidence his dreams shattering
As her coldness set his teeth chattering

He hadn't wanted to open up and hear it
That there was a restlessness in her spirit
Choosing instead to press on despite the signs
Preferring instead to color within his lines

His theory was that if she didn't love him
Whether that be something of an arbitrary whim
Or of reasons enough that brought this about
His love was strong enough for the two and for doubt

Monogamy it seems is something for the happy few
Like a mirror carried in a basket of thoughts to chew
The birth of love is something crystalized in the mind
And something best enjoyed when critical eyes are blind

To all the reasons something should not or could not
Work but instead might be better off if simply forgot
There are four steps on this sort of lifelong journey
Four moments that crystalize a couple's destiny

The first of which is the opening of admiration
When a lover shines for all the causes of adoration
If one is blessed to catch the eye of acknowledgment
From the one loved, there is a hope it might be permanent

This then leads to the hope, the precious hope of love
The love to be gained and become as if from Heaven above
As lovers count the ways of the loved that bring delight
As if obvious and merited before all who have sight

Strangely, this simple plot is wrought with implausibility
Trapped as it is within each misstep of the impossibility
It is something, somehow, beyond good and evil's twilight
And still, he looked on loving her, be it wrong or right

Without love, the life spring of life dries up in fear
That life itself is nothing but a contest to persevere
Not to turn an optimist into the worst disparager 
Solitude can give everything except for character 

(c) January 23, 2024   Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved