Paris - Richard Fleming

we meet on a sunlit bridge                  in an ancient city in spring
and our shadows merge                        we meet like eager lovers
inhaling sweetness                                        your cool skin scent
apple blossom                                                    drenches my lips
the river                                                                           the light
sings                                                                                     sings
wings                                                                                 wishes
or prayers                                                                      unspoken
sweep overhead                                                 escape like birds
we stand like statues                                our lips eyes fingertips
our vows now set in stone                connect to become but one
sky a purple mass of starlings     stretching beyond and beyond

Richard Fleming

Image : Pixabay - congerdesign

A New Translation Of Love - Lyndon Queripel

I know inside my heart
Life’s too short to be apart
That together we could start
A revelation, a celebration
A new translation of love

I hear inside my head
All the words I should’ve said
All the words you could’ve read
A dedication, a communication
A new translation of love.

Lyndon Queripel


Image : Pixabay - Ben_Kerckx

I Thee Wed - Richard Fleming

As, with this gas-mask I thee wed,
Zed-missiles whistle overhead.
Machine-gun fire to left and right
reminds us of our parlous plight.
Our wedding bed is now debris,
our Best Man is a refugee:
he had a funny speech prepared
but scarpered when the sirens blared.
Amazing how war can transform:
our Bridesmaids are in uniform
and crouch in trenches, day and night,
untrained, but still prepared to fight.
The other day, the church got hit
but church or no church, we’ll commit
and, though we can’t walk down the aisle,
let’s opt for marriage Ukraine-style.

Richard Fleming

Image : Behance.net

Romance - Oscar Milde

Young love’s romantic that’s for sure
it’s dewy-eyed, intense and pure,
emotional to wild extremes,
hot-blooded too, the stuff of dreams.

Old love is different, of course
it’s like a voice that has gone hoarse
from too much talking. Old love must
celebrate contentment, trust. 

Oscar Milde


Image : Pixabay - sabinevanerp

Just A Note - Kathy Figueroa

Just a note to tell you, once again
How much you mean to me
And express how I appreciate
And enjoy your company

How much I crave your presence
During nights dark and cold
How wonderful it is to be with you
To have and to hold

I hope you always know I love you
Though I don’t whisper it every day
May my actions tell you more
Than my words could ever say

Kathy Figueroa

Image : Pixabay - geralt

All You Ever Do (Is Break My Heart) - Ian Duquemin

You say that you don't love me anymore
But I've heard that same old story, so many times before
So go ahead and leave me
I don't need you to explain
As I know that when you've had your fun
You'll turn up once again
All you ever do is break my heart
But I miss you every moment, that you and I must be apart
I know this may sound crazy…
But I'll wait right here for you
And dwell on all the pain, that you're about to put me through

And soon enough, you'll call me on the phone
You'll tell me that you're sorry, and you want to come back home
And like a fool, I'll let you in…
Just like I have before
So you can do your very best, to hurt a little more
As all you ever do is break my heart
You rip it up, not satisfied, until it falls apart
I know you think I'm crazy…
But I'll hang around for you
Like broken hearted lovers, are known to often do

So here we go again...
I guess I haven't learned
That playing with this fire…
I'm bound to end up getting burned
But I can't stay away from you, no matter how I try
And many times I've asked myself, but still I don't know why
As all you ever do is break my heart
The stitches come undone…
Then my whole world just falls apart
I know I must be crazy...
But no matter what you do
How ever much you hurt me, I just keep on loving you

Ian Duquemin

True Romance - Richard Fleming

It may have been a fling to you
and little more. To me it was
the world I’d built our future on.
You threw me down as though I were
a paperback you’d read and liked
but hardly loved: a hollow book.
Abandoned, desolate, bereft,
I felt my love was quite enough
for both of us. I begged you stay.
You laughed and said, things end, don’t weep,
discard one book and start another.
You left without a second glance.
I thought ours was a True Romance.

Richard Fleming

Entwined - Ian Duquemin

I never dreamed that I would see you there
With eyes as clear as glass 
I never thought that you would come my way
I thought you may have passed 
But you came in my direction 
Brushed your sweet lips over mine
And I fell in love so easily 
As you stopped the hands of time

I saw the smile upon your pretty face 
I think I even read your mind
You and I… We were destiny 
Two lonely souls entwined 
When you took me in your healing hands
All the damage slipped away
And I know this sounds ridiculous 
But you helped me light the way

Ian Duquemin

Conundrum - Richard Fleming

What’s worse, abandonment or else
the guilt of breaking someone’s heart?
I’d rather that my heart be stabbed
by some beloved’s dagger-blade
than do the wounding bit myself
and have remorseful feelings start:
dark nights when restful sleep is grabbed
as though by muggers, sins are weighed,
self-condemnation swamps the brain ...
that’s when you feel another’s pain
and long to take it back again.

Richard Fleming

Lovers - Richard Fleming

Once they were lovers, now they meet
by chance,
a lifetime later
in a busy street.
They greet each other cautiously,
embrace, but tentatively.
One glance
is all it takes
to remind him
how the world had once seemed
limitless
with her in it.
While she, acutely conscious
that she only dressed to shop,
feels suddenly complete again
and prays that time might stop.

Richard Fleming

Nothing Else Planned - Ian Duquemin

Will you walk with me darlin’?
Will you take hold my hand?
I don't know where we're going
But we got nothing else planned
Let's head for the sunset
Watch it fall from our view
I will keep you beside me
The entire night through
We can lay in the fresh fields
Count the stars in the skies
I will keep those that shimmer
In the stillness, of your eyes
And the moon it shall greet us
Like an old trusted friend
And paint you in silver
In this time, that we spend
When we wake in the morning
With the beckoning sun
We will follow it somewhere
We’ll just keep, moving on
As long as we're together
We are never alone
And whatever we find there
We will make that our home
But let's take long time
Be it gentle and safe
This path which we travel
Is a journey, one of faith
And as we grow older
We can look back and say
That we did this together
And we've come a long way
But each step was worthy
And every day new
This life that I dreamed of
Was inspired by you
And when we both lay down
For the very last time
I will keep hold your fingers
And your hand, clasped in mine
We can roam into twilight
Where we never will part
Our journey continued
Yet only, just the start
Will you walk with me darlin’?
Will you take hold my hand?
I don't know where we're going
But we got nothing else planned

Ian Duquemin

Holding Hands - Diane Scantlebury

We still hold hands
You and I,
In quiet affirmation
Of our affection,
A gentle squeeze,
Nothing ostentatious
In any way,
Just a discrete
Silent, public display,

We still kiss ‘good night’
And again,
In the morning
When we awaken,
Nothing over amorous,
A gentle peck,
Neither of us wishing
Each other for granted
To be taken,

Holding hands
Down leafy, dark lanes,
Sometimes together
We’ll walk,
And just occasionally
You’ll try to
Encourage me to skip,
But I’ll laugh and refuse
Then hold on even tighter,
In case upon the rough tarmac
I might trip,

We still hold hands
You and I,
Because we’re comfortable,
Not caring
What others think,
A gentle squeeze,
Or a loving peck
Will haul us happily back,
On miserable days
From sorrow’s brink.

Diane Scantlebury

Speak From My Heart - Ian Duquemin

I don't speak with my voice
I don't speak with my tongue
As whatever they say, seems to always be wrong
So I speak with my heart
As the words that I feel
Are the right things to say
And are honestly real
I speak about love
And I talk about truth
Put your hand to my chest
Where you'll feel the proof
Every beat sings a verse
And that verse becomes song
When I speak from my heart
It can never be wrong

Ian Duquemin

Crash Right Through The Sky - Ian Duquemin

You know you lift my spirit
Yeah, you raise it high
Sometimes I feel I might collide or, crash right through the sky
You are so beautiful
Is there a better word?
I'm sure there must be, though right now, it's not been heard
You are a part of me girl
You are my beating heart
I know this, as it skips a beat when, we're too far apart
You're the one I turn to
You're the one I love
Continue being you, and lift my, treasured soul above
Yeah you lift my spirit
And you raise it high
So high I feel I might collide or, crash right through the sky
So high I feel I might collide or, crash right through the sky

Ian Duquemin

Tokens of Love - Diane Scantlebury

She didn’t need expensive flowers,
She didn’t want a special day,
There was no need
For a fancy restaurant,
Or the extortionate gift
For which he’d pay,
All she wanted
Was his full attention,
Not ruby hearts or a turtle dove,
All she wanted
Was care and consideration,
Not trivial trappings or artificial tokens of love.

Diane Scantlebury

A Little War - Ian Duquemin

If you find... That you might need me girl
I'll come running to your cheating arms again
Oblivious, to all the hurt you'd cause me
I'm still stinging from those vast amounts of pain
When you hit me... Well, I deserved it
As I know I wasn't wild enough for you
Every punch... You aimed, and threw upon me
Were ones I guess, deserved and overdue
But baby, I still love you
And I know that deep inside, you love me too
If you need a little war, that some call loving, in your life
Then I'm here to do the best that I can do

Your gifts of scars and bruises, I still cherish
These wounds that time itself may never heal
They show me that our love, was more than heaven
As heaven is a thing you cannot feel
And here we are apart, but always joined in what we had
Like a never ending battle, that we share
The pain in which we suffer, tells the story of our past
And that story tells how much we really care
So baby, I still love you
And I know that deep inside, you love me too
If you need a little war, that some call loving, in your life
Then I'm here to do the best that I can do

Ian Duquemin

Sorry Situation - Ian Duquemin

There ain't no point denying, I ain't lying
That our love affair was real
Or how could I explain, this kinda pain
That's how a broken heart should feel
If I can't sleep at night, or hold you tight
It never was infatuation
I wait here all alone, for you to phone
And that's a sorry situation

I never thought you'd go, so you should know
That wasn't ever my intention
And if I made you cry, then say goodbye
I guess that I forgot to mention
That I'm in love with you, I thought you knew
I was as stupid as a fool could be
Now I'm longing for the kiss, I've come to miss
So won't you please come home and back to me

If you should stay away, another day
You know I'd understand your reasons
But not to have you here, is like a year
Without its ever changing seasons
The rain would fall all day, and come what may
There wouldn't be your inspiration
These words to you I send, in hope to end
This sad and sorry situation

Ian Duquemin

Undiscovered - Ian Duquemin

The light cascaded beautifully
Upon the silk sheet bed
The candle threw its shadows
On the wall above her head
She looked much like a sculpture
With her features all on show
Exuberant and unrestrained
Amidst the candles glow
Her eyes were so magnificent
Like jewels not yet discovered
Yet here she lay in full display
The greatest gift uncovered
And then the slightest breath beside me
Proves that she is real
As never could a dream express
The love in which I feel

Ian Duquemin

Testimony Of Jean-Jacques Le Page - Tony Gardner

My name is Jean-Jacques Le Page, I wish my confession be read
For now I am withered with age, and I wish to die pure in my bed

On a June day fifty years gone, when the clouds dreamed across the blue sky
And the wild roses drank the warm sun, on the headland walked Paulette and I

So often we paused and embraced, we were young and our ardour was strong
Fearing not disapproval we faced, for we knew that our families were wrong

Paulette was not of my faith, and not from an old Guernsey line
While my family tree we could trace, right back to the Conqueror's time

Yet purely we loved and time passed, until was selected for me
A bride of a far higher caste, I was charged that was how it should be

Then Paulette's family was told, to keep her well out of my way,
By those too blind and too old, who thought us just children at play

So that day in the warm summer sun, on the high southern cliffs we stood there
Where the gorse glows and wild rabbits run, we held hands and leapt into the air

I was caught by a tree near the top, she was torn from my grasp with a moan
And treacherous fate took the life, that I treasured much more than my own.

A passer-by rescued and found me and thought we had both slipped and fell
My family were glad I was sound, thinking privately all turned out well.

So I married the one that they chose, and for forty years kept up the sham
Now my wife and my parents repose, and I want to regain who I am

Soon I'll pass to that far distant shore, where Paulette will be waiting for me
And things will be just as before, The way that God meant them to be

And so says Jean-Jacques Le Page.

Tony Gardner

A New Translation Of Love - Lyndon Queripel

I know inside my heart
Life’s too short to be apart
That together we could start
A revelation, a celebration
A new translation of love

I hear inside my head
All the words I should’ve said
All the words you could’ve read
A dedication, a communication
A new translation of love

Lyndon Queripel