Promises

What are promises
but sincere words wrapped
in ribbon of hope?

I try not to make
promises I cannot keep.
I try not to give
assurances I cannot meet.

I want to tell you
everything will be fine.
I want to sell you on
this faulty love of mine.

But this love doesn't come
with any guarantees.
It is like the autumn sun
humbled by a winter breeze.

Do you need promises
that cannot be fulfilled?
Do you seek certainty
that milk will not be spilled?

You are the dairy maid,
you know the prices paid
for love that is hidden,
for love that is forbidden.

So I won’t make promises
that I cannot sustain;
I won't turn I love you
into a glass of cheap champagne.
No other lover, no demon dark
can tempt me away with promises,
of greater love than yours.

I will ask you
to stay with me
to the end,
as my lover,
as my friend.

Let my tongue
play joyfully
around your name
until that glad day when
my words are no more,
and my life has been given
to you with sincerity
wrapped in hope.

© Francisco G. Rodriquez, 2012