Below is my first published poem, which will appear in Full Sail University’s literary magazine, The Aviator, in the Summer 2012 issue. It’s due out in a few weeks, but you get the first look!
***Please note, this is copyrighted. Any reproduction, reuse, or otherwise redistribution of this piece as your own work constitutes copyright infringement. Don’t make the optimist angry.***
The Affair
by Victoria Elizabeth Ann
Are you in love with me?
I’m not certain.
You are in love with the idea of me?
Do you love the newness?
The excitement?
Maybe the freedom of the pursuit!
Perhaps there is nothing wrong with that.
I haven’t decided.
Does true love exist? Ah, the Hollywood fairy tales!
Romance. Beauty. Sensuality.
Love, sweet love.
It does exist. It must.
Then again… maybe it doesn’t.
Does it matter?
I’ve learned to accept that it might not.
All women do.
Is real love compromise?
Is true love… perseverance?
Commitment that exceeds rational logic;
Surpasses emotional bounds!
To love is to be steadfast,
Even when your heart is no longer in play?
To stand beside the person you’ve committed to,
When every string of your soul stretches you the opposite direction!
When every thought conspires against you,
To stand true and maintain your obligation –
Nailed to the cross of marriage!
Speared by the sharpened point of the holiest union.
That is the true definition of love.
Or is it?
To be intoxicated with lust, life, the promise of new beginnings –
Fleeting! Ephemeral! Delicious.
Can we build our lives upon it?
Lust!
Raw, unbridled, libidinous.
Is it a roaring flame that dwindles to ashes in the passing of a breath?
Will it consume our world in one raging second of fiery beauty?
Passion. Life.
How long can a flame sustain us?
Don’t stop. Stop. Please.
Do you hear my words? Ignore them!
I cannot deny this passion we feel.
Rationalize it? Define it?
Impossible.
I want to revel in your love –
Be the target of your desire, your excitement!
Don’t rob me of that experience, please.
We both need and desire it.
It will keep us sane.
But…
Will it keep us whole?
Are we martyrs?
Or does the pleasure of our sin release us from the sacrifice of love?
I’d like to think so.
Through our intimacy –
Can we renew our marital vows?
Mend the promises to our spouses.
Cling to the stake that burns us,
No longer strain for freedom.
Will we enjoy the weight we carry by finding relief in each other’s arms?
I’ll bear your burden this night –
Can you bear mine?
So please, let us set no expectations;
And there shall be no disappointment.
Let’s live in each stolen moment, rejoice in each kiss!
And should the day arrive that our love must change?
For better or for worse,
Let us make our decisions then.
Victoria Elizabeth Ann 