~Edna St. Vincent Millay
Love, if I weep it will not matter,
And if you laugh I shall not care;
Foolish am I to think about it,
But it is good to feel you there.
Love, in my sleep I dreamed of waking,
White and awful the moonlight reached
Over the floor, and somewhere, somewhere
There was a shutter loose -- it screeched!
Swung in the wind -- and no wind blowing --
I was afraid and turned to you,
Put out my hand to you for comfort --
And you were gone! Cold as the dew,
Under my hand the moonlight lay!
Love, if you laugh I shall not care,
But if I weep it will not matter --
Ah, it is good to feel you there.
~ Elizabeth Akers Allen
At last, when all the summer shine
That warmed life's early hours is past,
Your loving fingers seek for mine
And hold them close -- at last -- at last!
Not oft the robin comes to build
Its nest upon the leafless bough
By autumn robbed, by winter chilled, --
But you, dear heart, you love me now.
Though there are shadows on my brow
And furrows on my cheek, in truth, --
The marks where Time's remorseless plough
Broke up the blooming sward of Youth, --
Though fled is every girlish grace
Might win or hold a lover's vow,
Despite my sad and faded face,
And darkened heart, you love me now!
I count no more my wasted tears;
They left no echo of their fall;
I mourn no more my lonesome years;
This blessed hour atones for all.
I fear not all that Time or Fate
May bring to burden heart or brow, --
Strong in the love that came so late,
Our souls shall keep it always now!
~ Helen Steiner Rice
True love is a sacred flame
That burns eternally,
And none can dim its special glow
Or change its destiny.
True love speaks in tender tones
And hears with gently ear,
True love gives with open heart
And true love conquers fear.
True love makes no harsh demands
It neither rules nor binds,
And true love holds with gentle hands
The heart that it entwines.
There's nothing I'd love more than to shower you
With a thousand kisses and have you hold me tight
Against your shoulder as you
Whisper sweet promises in my ear,
Your breath kissing my skin like a warm breeze
And taking the last cold tendrils of winter from my heart
As it reaches out to embrace you
Only to come back a shy animal,
Away from what will be the pain of losing you
When this dreaded separation finally arrives,
And with it
The end of summer.
~ Konstantin Simonov
Wait for me, and I'll return
Only wait very hard
Wait when you are filled with sorrow...
Wait in the sweltering heat
Wait when the others have stopped waiting,
Forgetting their yesterdays.
Wait even when from afar no letters come to you
Wait even when others are tired of waiting...
And when friends sit around the fire,
Drinking to my memory,
Wait, and do not hurry to drink to my memory too.
Wait. For I'll return, defying every death.
And let those who do not wait say that I was lucky.
They will never understand that in the midst of death,
You with your waiting saved me.
Only you and I know how I survived.
It's because you waited, as no one else did.