Words. Words. Words.

"The Congregation Has Been Altered"

Sometimes one line is all we need
It is the boundary between
You and the girl of your dreams
If only you could muster the courage
Enough
To speak it
It could spark the greatest love affair
Of the 21st century
Known to man

Sometimes it's not just one line
But rather the words we say
In the frame of reference
That we take

It could be those penultimate three words
As big as the landscape
As heavy as the cross you bear
To say them
Such a load to carry
No one hopes to walk alone

I once knew a girl
In the better years of my youth (pretending)
Who asked
"When do you know you love someone?"

The best advice I could give:
"You just know
And if you have to ask..."

We were sitting
Perched in placed positions
Upon rocks
At Land's End
Her, looking out
Across the expansive sea
"I think I love you-
But I haven't felt this feeling
Before
And to be honest it scares me"
Pause, in between,
"Do you know what I mean?"

I looked at her
Looking out at the sea
Squeezed her hand three times
And she knew
What I meant

It became our way to say "I love you"
Our own secret message, in a code
Where no words were needed, necessarily

We could have this moment
Forever
On the rocks
As a breeze blew through her hair
And I, I could smell her on me
Still

I look back on that day
Forever and always, in a way
As the only day
In my life
Where something bigger than myself
Mattered to me
Love
Or the idea of being in love
Retrospectively

And now I don't think
I'll ever get it back again
It pains me to know
Since love has gone out
With the tide
And no matter how long
I stand upon the dock
She ain't never coming back
To me

The girl, sailor,
Who took my heart
As a prize
Like a fighter, in a rage
Or an animal trapped in a cage

It's kind of a funny story
To think this one relationship
Set the stage
For the rest of my life

I can strive to become
Fitter,
Happier,
More productive
But what's the use
If the heart doesn't work
Like to used to
Up to its potential
Anymore