Alfred said it is better
to have loved
and lost
than to have
never
loved at all.
The good Lord
Tennyson was wrong.
One never loses love.
Love lingers.
Like a rusty barbed wire digging
deep into the flesh
of an unlucky tree,
love lingers in the heart.
Like the sharpest shard
of a broken glass
invisible on the
kitchen floor,
jabbing savage
into a bare foot,
love lingers in the soul.
Like the sweet perfume
of a passing lady
that reminds you of the one,
love lingers in the memory.
Better to have loved and lost?
As age and wisdom increase,
I now wonder if that is true.
Better to have loved or not?
Because love lingers, its sweet
taste I have come to rue.
© Francisco G. Rodriquez, 2012
