Terms Of Endurance Poem by r james sterzinger

we don't ask
for those guarantees
of anything but love.

the warranty of a new
car is but for miles served,
no true loyalty intended,
everything forgotten.
trade-in value
negotiated.

we stick a kitchen knife
into our old toaster,
it gets the burnt bread out.

in twenty years time
we have gone through three
washers two dryers
two furnaces
it's all that subtle

unanswered prayers:
where is God's accountability?
where does prayer lie
the collection plate end?

I don't hold you
to your love or the vows
anymore.
endless love they say
is a character of God.
the endless search for love
is the character of man.

love is the character of both.
hang to it while it is there,
be ready to find it
when it isn't,
hold it to no
terms of endurance.

when it is there:
lie in it's arms
hold to it tight.