Sunday, February 21, 2010

In the Garden in Ottawa

Across the planes and ranges far
Where frozen north meets land of sun
Lies the gleaming city of Ottawa
And its Great Hall known to everyone

From whence countless paths and walkways spread
Like ripples, or the lace of cobweb
That run and slither where they're led
Twixt arbor tall and flower bed

And sleep between the shaded trees
Where benches twined with sweet woodbine
Or fountain drowning so quietly
In the green hedges that slow down time
In the Garden of Ottawa

Where many a lover met by moonlight
On sweetly scented paths of thyme
Pledged love under the vault of night
Whose incensed breeze still echo their rhymes

And there in the coolness of the shade
Beneath the trees vast as cathedral column
Lies the icy cool copper plate
That tell a dirge so soft and solemn

There where all birdsong dies away
In eerie quiet hollow silence
And the world grows, in the shade, so grey
Lacking joy or pain, passion or violence
In the Garden in Ottawa

And here in the coldest, quiet apathy
Where even breaths are still too loud
Lie two copper plates buried for eternity
Neath loam and leaves decayed, and unfound

Put down in an age long since passed
When people dared once more to trust
Laid down for peace that was to last
Before ashes to ashes, rust to rust

Each lie firmly at the foot of a tree
Two sugar maples with leaves painted red
Hidden twixt roots for none to see
None but worms, the feastmaster of the dead
In the Garden in Ottawa

The first put down by a young man
With old eyes and a large heart
Who strove and did unite a land
Tore down the walls that kept men apart

Who cast his vision even to the skies
And strove to reach and touch the moon
Who spoke with honest and true eyes
The last of the great ones, who shared their doom
In the Garden in Ottawa

The other plate neath the other maple
On the other side of that grey snaking road
Placed there by another as equally able
And who likewise also worked and strove

Elegant and grand as in the eras of old
She wept for the poor and those downtrod
Then she spoke the truth so fierce and bold
And left many great men in silence, awed

But her weeping still was not at its end
She wept for her husband on that day
When they drove around that fateful bend
And a gunshot took him, forever, away
In the Garden in Ottawa

One plate laid down by husband strong
The other set by wife who wept
And each planted a maple which grew so long
Even after both in shadehood slept

Day followed day, season followed season
The two trees grew, though far apart
Separated by the path for no reason
But few things are stronger than that born of the heart

For many years passed since both trees were sown
And the once soft soil had now hardened
And both trees had to giant stature grown
And were among the greatest pillars in the Garden
In the Garden in Ottawa

But what few saw and less could see
And only moon and stars had watched
Was that hidden high in the canopy green
The two trees had grown and finally touched

Though the path between is still ever sure
The space allot them simply let them grow tall
And in time their love still did endure
To stand higher and again united, after all

There is a garden tucked away
Where frozen north meets lands of sun
And where one can see, everyday
That in the end, love has won
In the Garden in Ottawa

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

This is based on real life. In Canada's capitol, Ottawa, there is the home of the Governor-General, which is known for its beautiful grounds. Whenever a foreign dignitary comes to visit, they are received there, and usually plant a sugar maple on the grounds. There is a corner, where on one side of the path, John F. Kennedy's sugar maple is planted, and on the other side of the path, his wife, Jacqueline Kennedy planted hers. As the years went by, the two trees grew larger and larger until finally, their branches now touch, right over the path.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Love Song #6: What I Really Mean

I,
All that I am
My heart, my soul, all within me
The very fibre of my being
My essence down to the very core
That is
me

Love,
Passionately, vervently, zealously
Honestly, truly, fiery, completely, unconditionally
Forever and eternally, patiently, hopefully
Enduringly, faithfully
I do really
love

You,
My darling, my love, my sweet
My friend, my shoulder, my heartbeart
My forever, my only, my girl
My One True Human Love is
you

But because there is not enough ink
Or paper in this small world
There is simply not enough room
So just remember this is a small taste of what I mean
When I say
I love you

Love Song #5: Untitled Love

Across the dark night sky
No moon, no stars to see
Across the cold distance
In between the frozen atmosphere
Across the sharp emptiness
Tinkling glass echoes around
Across the frozen universe
My heart's cry will break

Like the waves upon the rocks!
Like the hurricane upon the land!
Like the tulips from frozen ground!
Like the torrential waters of a mighty dam!

Rushing across space, across time
Rushing beyond barriers and miles
Rushing upon the wings of the dawn
Rushing to find you, wherever you are

To tell you...

That I love, I love, I love
I do, I do, I do! I do!
I love, I love, I love, I love!
Only you! Its always been you

Now let the lightning fill the night sky
Now let the heavens and earth be moved
Come what may, it will not matter
Nothing can change how much I love you!

Love Song #4: Eyesong

Mysteries
How I long to spend the hours
Unraveling their lines
Going deeper
And find the hidden corners
Where hide the stars
That shine when you smile
I look into your eyes
I think... I see
I see your fear and apprehension
I see the hope you held so long
I see the hard road you walked on
I see a cry deep within
Let me hold you in my arms
Just as close as you want me to be
And gaze into your eyes
And as I read you, can you read me?
I'm saying don't be afraid
I'll always be here for you
I'm saying dare to dream big
This is all more than real
I'm saying you don't have to walk alone... not any more
But most of all, my eyes are singing
Singing to your beautiful eyes
A song that transcends all the other thoughts
and voices and people that would come between us
A love song
And now I think I hear, faintly but true
A love song rising
in harmony from your eyes too

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Love Song #3: Today

Today
I forced myself
To remember the curves of your smile
And not cry
By complete accident
I heard a song
We danced to it so long ago
Do you remember
Probably not
Hearts are heavier for little boys
It is why we pretend not to care
My heart was heaviest then
In the summer by the oak tree
When you first stole it away
And hid it in your eyes
Now I try to remember their color
And smell your hair with my mind
Capture the glow of the moon on your shoulders
As fireworks lit up our sky
By the steps by the water
By the place I fell in love
My first love
My last love
If your love, like those lapping waves
Should ebb and flow with the moon
May the moon stay forever full
And our hearts forever true
Today was a hard day
Being so far from you
I remembered your smile
And so, it was a good day too.

Love Song #2: To the Wandering Love

To the Wandering Love

I woke in the early morning hour
And I climbed the mountain so high
I waited, breathless in the blue bower
Waiting as the sun came to the sky

I greeted the morning sun so bright
I greeted this glorious new day
For now all things will be made right
I can already hear your feet on the way

A lifetime I have waited so long
And yet all of it seems but as a dream
For though far, you have never really been gone
Things like this are never what they seem

Do not doubt our love, never fear
Even in a sea of people, it's you and I
And whether you are far or near
All I see is you and I hear every sigh

Each moment with you, a precious pearl
To be treasured forever in my heart
What the future hold soon will unfurl
Ever together, even when apart

Love Song #1: Where will we go today?

Where will we go today?

Where will we go today?
Far across the mountains tall
To stand on top of the whole world
Where we can see all?

Where crisp and cool mountain air
Tickles our lungs as we cross glacial streams
While dancing in the falling snow
Making snow angels while we speak of dreams

Where will we go today?
To the desert far with its canyon deep
To rest beside the river there
And feel the warmth of the summer heat

To float down through the bends and turns
Beside layers of sunset set in stone walls
To drink the sweet water gurgling there
Beside a hundred waterfalls

Where will we go today?
The wide plains of savannah gold
With wildflowers mixed between the grass
While a thousand crickets sing songs untold

Where the world is far and the sky is bluer
And the clouds form castles and beasts untame
And the lightning forms a curtain
As we dance in the warm rain

Where will we go today?
Rise upon the wings of the setting sun
Sail upon the barge of the moon
And leave behind everyone

To dip our hands in the night sky
And count the stars as they come out to play
To lie upon the soft nebulous galaxies
And simply float away

Where will we go today?
Whether mountain tall or canyon wide
We can go anywhere in this universe
As long as I’m by your side

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

You Are Like the Sea

I look at you and what do I see?
Where do I begin to describe your beauty?

In yours eyes I see the colors swirl and eddy
The icy greys of the far northern seas
The clearest blues of the deepest leagues
The green-turquoise of the tropical shallows
All mixing into each other soft and mellow
And the center bursting forth is golden bright
Like the sun on the waters at the first light
And the way your eyes shine when you laugh or cry
Like the stars reflected from the night sky

Your hair falling free like the waves of the sea
Crests that rise and ride and fall so freely
When you walk or you run the glorious breakers resound
When you sit or you sleep the stillness of the calm abounds
Like the sea spread across the world’s horizon all days
Your locks spread across your pillow like the waves

I look at you and do you know what I see?
How can I begin to describe your beauty?

Your skin is like the shore of lost islands, truly
White sands stretching forth without end
No rock or shell or blemish to which to tend
Silky soft like the sand, warmed by the sun
Untouched by man, uncharted by anyone
How I long to bury my hands in your hands
And feel again the warmth of your island sands

The way you sit and the way you stand
Like the smooth wandering curve of the strand
The line where waters meet the shore
Such graceful path, your movements even more
Flow and glide so gently and so smooth
Sublime like the seas are your every move

I look at you, do you know what I see?
Where do I begin to describe your beauty?

Your heart is like the ocean, giving so freely
And just as the ocean it’s too large to measure
And just like the islands it holds so much treasure
And as the ocean’s fury can be stirred up so too
I have seen the anger stirred up within you
But just as the sea grows calm so quickly
Your love always conquers and you forgive so easily
And this shows me your heart is as big as the sea
And I would sail and explore it, if you would let me
To seek out its hidden islands and treasures and ways
To sail in your seas for the rest of my days

I’m left speechless by your beauty
All because you are like the sea