-- I You Love Me --

John Herlihy

If you love me,

I will love you in return.

As long as the sun creates moonlight,

Until the North Star appears in daylight.

Forever to have and to hold,

Our secret only to each other told.

If you no longer love me,

I will no longer love you in return.

The day will become steps to take you away,

The night a dark room where memories stay.

Little by little the emotion will fade,

Little by little the heart hardened into jade.

If you forgive me,

I will forgive you in return.

We have both each other done harm,

The absolution will our accusations disarm.

Our blunders down the wrong road driven,

Our hearts set back on track when forgiven.

If you never forgive me,

I will never forgive you in return.

Those who are the least forgiving,

Never fostered the habit of giving.

Nurturing our resentment will lead us into the future,

Binding us to endless negativity with a silken suture.

If you miss me,

I will miss you in return.

I will feel your thoughts as in telepathy,

The sweet emotions will stir their mystery.

Your memory to fill the hole of your absence,

Your smile to fill the face of your presence.

If you never miss me,

I will never miss you in return.

Bitterness enshrouds our relationship at the end,

To remember otherwise would only be pretend.

Better each of us simply disappear without a trace,

No need to assume the mantle of a false face.

If you forget me,

I will forget you in return.

We carve out our enduring memories,

The rest turns to ash as heart-embers burn.

Who remembers the heartache endured as if on borrow,

Better to be forgotten with no place in tomorrow.

If you remember me,

I will remember you in return.

A tribute to our moments together in time,

A remembrance of your sweetness I claim to be mine.

All the remembering will add up to the living you,

The loving childhood sweetheart I once upon a time knew.

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Copyright © John Herlihy

Friday 22 October 2021