PASSION

Passion,
of a kind not found
on the screen of a theatre;
a gift from God.

Passion,
devalued by a world
that lifts it to mere lust
and advertises it in newspapers,

never understanding
that the most precious
and priceless things
are kept protected...

secluded,
guarded...
even fenced in
to keep intruders out.

I feel a Passion greater
than any I've seen in a movie
or in the pages of
the steamiest sex-filled book.

Passion,
white hot, deep,
high and endless,
though for a time it ebbs.

Oh yes, I feel a passion.
And it is a Pearl of so great a price
that I cannot cast it
before an uncaring world.

Copyright � 2000 Shoshana Kurzweil

To: Poetry by Star Penry