Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, LOVE AND MARRIAGE, by JAMES OPPENHEIM


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

LOVE AND MARRIAGE, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: The love of man for woman and woman for man
Last Line: But in the beloved shall he find him, and in the sight of the beloved shall he adore him...
Subject(s): Love - Marital; Wedded Love; Marriage - Love


THE LOVE of man for woman and woman for man,
It is not often love...

When the married couple kiss do they drink the music of each other's souls,
Are they moved to unspeakable reverence and adoration,
Would they renounce the world for the good of the beloved?

No, kisses are become to them a routine and a duty:
They find each other's bodies at midnight as they find breakfast in the morning:
And they fill the idle hours with games, shows, rides and liquor,
All to escape from one another...

I have thoughts of a love that might be;
Of a love that is the tender caress of forehead and cheeks with barely lingering hands:
Of a love that opens the skies at midnight for silent flight,
Flight far, with wings, in one another's arms...

These lovers shall mean as much to each other as they mean to themselves:
Their tenderness shall melt down irritations:
Their passion shall surcharge tasks with meaning...

Not alone shall the man find God in himself,
But in the beloved shall he find him, and in the sight of the beloved shall he adore him...





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