Two hearts that beat, counting down

the seconds of remaining lives.

Held close, pinioned with clinging arms,

yet torn apart, not by force

but by their parent’s wills.

Forbidden sight, forbidden meeting

forbidding love, for all time.

 

Thus standing in a last farewell,

sob shaken, pearled with tears,

they parted.

He standing still in his misery.

She, stronger but wrenched with grief,

leaves her hand in his till

only fingers touch and eyes cascade.

 

And so as measured heart beat,

follows heart beat, through the years.

Each on a path of life, towards a finite end.

Lives that include many other souls,

partners, children, and a hundred friends.

Still they yearn for yet another glimpse

of that first love, that filled their hearts.

Never forgotten in all those years.

 

Then in the quiet time, that comes at last.

Partners pass away to rest.

Leaving behind the beating hearts

of the two lovers;

hidden among the leaves of time

that drift ceaselessly to earth.

 

How paths cross, a mystery of the stars?

Then, by chance, they meet, stop, stare

and touching hands find love –

still haunts their hearts,

not one mote less than in the long ago.

And thus, joined by fate

as kind as it once was cruel.

Their joyous love inspires

a sculpture.  The never ending

tale of lovers in the setting sun.

 
 
David Garlick, Puerto Vallarta, March 1998