Poetic Love Can Be Harmful To Your Health

A Poem

The heart is often the designated repository of idyllic love Upon which artists have heaped devotion throughout the ages In song and verse Painting and sculpture Love coming from the heart exemplified as without calculation or conditions The wellspring of emotions and desire Where selfishness has no place No part of you is to be held back

Wait a minute another voice (mine) protests Is this not yet another example of the perfect being, the enemy of the good Has not this standard caused much pain and suffering and loss How many lovers have deemed themselves failures Or been judged as inadequate by their mate As measured by the guideposts of Shakespeare’s sonnets Isn’t there blame to be assessed to poets in particular Who have set up unattainable expectations

Some individuals as they age When the “feeling” and desire in a relationship are gone Believing then that love is gone Or was never really there Abandon their life partner In a pursuit of a love ideal That is as real as a unicorn Under the illusion that sexual desire and attraction Must be the foundation of true love

Still others as their bodies age Allow their need for affirmation that they are still vibrant Lead them to pursue a new and younger partner Believing that is where the hope of love now lies for them Is there no path forward then for lasting love Yes, I say Mutual respect Intimacy that needs no pretense Friendship Shared values and goals Affection and warmth Support in hard times And joy in each other’s successes These are the base upon which love can prosper and endure

Leave pure love to poets to extol And God to demonstrate While the rest of us build it brick by brick The substance more important than the appearance It is more like a tree that when nourished properly Develops deep roots Capable of withstanding adversity Able to last a long lifetime Than a beautiful flower that can break in a storm Caught unaware by its sudden demise