Hopes last longer than their disappointments.
An abandoned hope can haunt its house for years,
Longing to breathe life into its spirit,
Longing for the salience of its youth.
O phantom hopes, do not despair! For someone
Will soon take up the gauntlet of your dreams,
Embrace you as the child of their passion,
Embody you in the flesh of their desire.
Nor will a kind and just hope ever die.
Copyright by Nicholas Gordon
Ancient lovers believed a kiss would literally unite their souls because the spirit was said to be carried in one’s breath.
–Eve Glicksman
“Mine is the Month of Roses; yes, and mine
The Month of Marriages! All pleasant sights
And scents, the fragrance of the blossoming vine,
The foliage of the valleys and the heights.
Mine are the longest days, the loveliest nights;
The mower’s scythe makes music to my ear;
I am the mother of all dear delights;
I am the fairest daughter of the year.”
– Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
“The new earth quickens as you rise.
The May Queen is waiting.
Feel the pulsing ground call you to journey,
To know the depths of your desire.
The May Queen is waiting.
Moving through the night, the bright moon’s flight.
In green and silver on the plain.
She waits for you to return again.
Do not keep Her waiting.
Her temper stings if you refuse to taste Her honey.
Surrender as enchantment brings
The first light of dawning.
Move with Her in sacred dance, through fear to feeling.
Bringing ecstasy to those who dare.
Living earth is breathing.
Loving through the night in the bright moonlight,
As seedlings open with the rain.
She’ll long for you to return again.
Do not keep Her waiting.”
– Ruth Barren, The May Queen is Waiting
