Here is an English love poem which is a sublime collection of wondrous words etched by our guest poet Kalen Dion. His words on love have a deep impact on many, including us. Kalen Dion is an author and artist based out of Southern California in the United States. With a sharp focus on the dichotomies of human experience, his work speaks of sorrow and joy, grief and recovery, and the process of coming back home to oneself. You can follow Kalen Dion here.
“Only for a moment” is a poem about the permanence and transience of love, how the flow of time polishes our processes, and the connectedness of all things. It brings to mind the ebb and flow, the constant change, and the playful nature, of the tides of passion.
Only for A Moment- A Sublime Love Poem
Love is not constant.
Love is not love without freedom.
Love is organic.
Love is ever changing, yet always the same.
As the river never holds the same water,
yet its shores are always present.
Would you stop its churning,
that you may enjoy it in still perpetuity,
like stopping time,
and rob it of all that makes it bitter and sweet?
Sorrowful and joyful?
Painful and passionate?
Or would you find comfort in its beauty,
in spite of its passing?
I too have been a stone,
who weeps for the continuous farewell of moving waters.
But love,
in its violent compassion,
wore me into sand and drove me to the ocean.
Love never disappears.
It simply replaces its garments.
It wears an ever changing face.
It is a playful dance.
The grains of sand which chase the retreating tide,
and the sea who turns wistfully,
to fall back into the embrace of the ever wanting shore.
Love is not to be held,
but cherished,
as soft winds which cool the summer heat,
if only for a moment.
The poem is a spectacular expression about holding back and not letting go. It speaks of how this universal feeling is everything but constant in the eyes of a passionate lover. That should, in fact, be the case with everyone. As the word of this love poem engulfs us, it introduces us to the various other sides of love that many know, but yet deny. Somewhere, it also leaves us wondering about all the times when love does not change, but the face of does.
Nothing in life is permanent; rather, no one in life is permanent. Only for a Moment imparts to the many lovers, that one should cherish what they have, and move on with just fond memories. Have we humans ever been able to hold on to anything that isn’t in our destiny? No! Peace and happiness lie in living that moment and holding to the memory, not the person/situation.
Our favorite lines from the poem are:
Love never disappears.
It simply replaces its garments.
It wears an ever changing face.
It is a playful dance.
So beautifully, the poet, Kalen Dion, speaks about how the feeling of love is constant. It is only the face that changes. While people may come and go (unfortunately), the language, expression, and intensity of love may alter, but it never entirely disappears. Sure, it hurts when we have to lose the people we love; but, we do eventually find someone else! The poet calls this nature “a playful dance.” We cannot agree more!
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Dear One Absent This Long While- Lisa Olstein- The Perfect Quarantine Poem!