by DELIA TOMINO NAKAYAMA

Have you ever loved someone and lost that love? Do you love someone now, completely? Do you crave to have a love, someone you can trust and share your life with?

Perhaps romantic love in my life is especially important as I am not so close to my family and am not consistently part of any one culture.

For me, a lover becomes family and an essential compass in an ever-changing and somewhat uncertain world.

Some people do not want a romantic partner ... For love is too messy and complicated, guaranteed to cause heartache and loss ... “Why bother?” is what some skeptics might say.
Most of us can understand that sentiment if we’ve been wounded by love in the past, but usually sheer loneliness and the very human need of wanting intimate company wins out, and the search for love begins again ~

I write the following poem as an ode to my own love, but also to lovers in general and to those in search of love...

love poem

as i bury my face
into your warm skin
i wonder
what would life be like
without you?

almost 20 years my senior,
i worry you’ll leave this earth
earlier than i,
leaving me sad and alone

but life can end
at any moment -
we learned this well
in august of ’05

& each day is a gift

so tho i might fret
about “what if’s” and
desolate tomorrows

all we have is now ~
yesterday a memory
and tomorrow unknown

so i put my hand in yours,
cherishing the simple pleasure
of companionship and care

i am content with you,
in love and lucky, too

a million dollars and
all the accomplishments
in the world, nor
fame power or prestige

could ever equal
this tender sweetness

many roads we have traveled
with more to traverse
but with your hand in mine,
as we stumble and soar
we’ll never be poor
knowing what life is for