Sonnet on Vexations of Love

Love probes the deepest recess of intent

It dis-annuls the foibles of the flesh

As hunger and humility enmesh

In poignant intricacies heaven-sent

Where all the laws of rigidness are bent

To adhere to its utter selflessness

Defying longing’s wretched emptiness

It fills the vexing void of discontent

Indwelling and outpouring synchronized

Mortality and Mystery ally

To sear, perplex, in passion undisguised

A joyous grief of wounds to satisfy

Love’s subliminal conquest recognized

By sanguine sorrow silvering the eye

***

Love; it denudes our vulnerability

And strips the barriers of self-defense

With nothing more than whispers, wild, intense

We dare to bear its stunning misery

In spite of what we can or cannot see

Willing to risk its ruthless recompense

Susceptible, our soul-blood we dispense

Forgiving shortfalls of humanity

Dismantling the bulwarks of the heart

We plunge into a volatile unknown

To taste its utterance, for no rampart

Can exile hope; love’s obscure stepping-stone

No common logic augments to outsmart

The need to feed on crumbs from heaven’s throne

***

We wrestle with the pain of pleasure’s kiss

And revel in its keen, incumbent grief

Thriving within its ruthless un-relief

As we return to drink its suffering bliss

For everything is nothing without this

Of our inmost yearning, love is chief

The anchor in emotion trite and brief

Its bittersweet, the air we reminisce

A filament of ecstasy and woe

Laughing, it weeps; tempestuous embrace

A tug-of-war in holding; letting go

The climax of insanity and grace

We let the tenure of its torment flow

In tears of joy and sorrow on our face

© Janet Martin

Hey...it's back-to-school day and mothers are NEVER too old to cry...
...so I'm going to cry if I want to:)

Love's overflow is tears