Love’s Lament Poem by Alan Strand

Our ships lie here in anchor
We have a certain quest,
Love is our precious cargo
We’ll put it to the test.

I know that we must climb aboard
And steer into the gale,
I am so in love with you
But still our ships must sail.

You really need to find yourself
The part that’s kin to night,
Hold the lantern to it
And let it see daylight.

For I can’t pull it out of you
Do you know it’s there?
The stuff that wells up deep inside
It has to be laid bare.

I cry at night when I’m alone
I think of what could be
Our life, our love and all that goes
With having a family.

My child wounds took time to heal
And so it goes with yours,
I sense that we are all done now
I drift t’wards unknown shores.

My sails do puff up now and then
Pushing me along
I turn my face into the sun
I try to remain strong.

But my heart is badly broken
It’s really no one’s fault,
I did not have the sacred key
To your secret vault.

Where only you could enter
And share yourself with me,
To know you on this level
Is what I truly need.

Sure life is full of troubles
Like unseen coral reefs,
The ones that rip our ships apart
And fills our hearts with grief.

But I want to be there with you
To help you steer your ship,
Through deep uncharted waters
To catch you when you slip.

For I know we are soul mates
Shipmates of the heart,
We could take turns as skippers
And pilot with Fate’s charts.

But I must know you inside out
Please trust me with your soul,
And sound your depths internally
Rejection takes its’ toll.

Perhaps our trusty astrolabes
That guide us in the night,
Are just lined up on diff’rent stars
Maybe we’ll be all right.

I feel right now it’s futile
I’ve loved and lost the game,
My maps to love are burning
I bow my head in shame.

I fear my ship may run aground
And break up at the seams,
Like love and life with my sweet girl
There sinks my golden dreams.

Unless you share the key you have
The one that’s to your heart,
Help me take the lock off it
Or forever shall we part.

I’ve got things to work on too
Will I hear your call?
I have to learn to listen for
Your heart beat in a squall.

I feel I am a failure
On this romantic sail,
I hope that you find success-
Drown Siren’s lonely wail!

And so I must cast off now
I wish you all the best,
Introspect deep inside
Your buried treasure chest.

Like a river always flows
Surely to the sea,
I will always love you hon’
And lament what cannot be.

(For Carla,2000/09/21.)