LOVE POEMS by John Pemberton

AMOROUS CONSEQUENCES

2011-12-21T10:26:00.000-08:00

A pair intent on their intimate sessions
Don't care to dwell on their consequent lessons.

DOORMAT

2010-12-21T05:13:00.000-08:00

His wife’s like a doormat that’s curled on the floor:
She’ll watch as he trips on the lies he forswore.

FIDELITY

2010-12-21T04:52:00.000-08:00

Fidelity plays a marital role,
Preventing distractions taking control.

STAGS AND HENS

2010-12-21T04:50:00.000-08:00

The stag party thrives on strippers and beers,
While ladies mix wine with sighs and oh dears.

ROSY

2010-12-21T04:44:00.001-08:00

It seems that no man could offer resistance
Once Rosy approached into touching distance.

FANCIED WOMAN

2010-12-21T04:40:00.000-08:00

Whatever emotion she tries to disguise,
A woman who’s fancied has stars in her eyes.

NAME DISDAIN

2010-12-21T04:26:00.000-08:00

She married a man then discarded his name,
Which in cricket is called not playing the game.

HUSBANDS AS PREY

2010-12-20T11:38:00.000-08:00

When the man of the house is tempted to stray,
Other people’s husbands are treated as prey.

GRUDGES

2010-12-20T11:36:00.000-08:00

Reluctant to part, it’s for parents to judge
If the flip side of love might just be a grudge.

CONDENSATION

2010-12-20T11:33:00.000-08:00

Some brief condensation on window panes
Two lovers’ breathings discreetly explain.

LOVERS' WORDS

2010-12-20T11:32:00.000-08:00

Young lovers’ words are lightly spoken,
Far deeper vows they likely betoken.

AFTERS

2010-12-20T11:20:00.001-08:00

When a chap says the evening is all inclusive,
His hinting at afters is highly conducive.

ADORATION

2010-12-20T10:30:00.000-08:00

Love is the target of adoration,
A certain route to multiplication.

FOREIGN LIAISONS

2010-12-20T09:30:00.000-08:00

Dating abroad with romantic ideas
More likely than not will end up in tears.

NATURE'S THEME

2010-12-20T09:20:00.000-08:00

Of all the songs the world has sung
This stays the one I choose to sing.
It speaks of love and bells they’ve rung,
And babies, life’s most precious things.

To those who many years have seen,
Young faces bring a special joy.
They thus continue nature’s theme
Of man and woman, girl and boy.

And as the planet daily turns,
Replacing night with morning’s dawn,
Each season’s visiting confirms
Its panoply will be reborn.

That everlasting cycle shows
Attraction plays a vital role.
The urge of reproduction grows
Through feelings that we can’t control.

EXTRA TIME

2010-05-22T06:04:00.001-07:00

Arrived at an impasse they couldn’t define,
They agreed on a session of extra time.

TOOTSIE

2010-05-22T05:53:00.000-07:00

Tootsie’s a game for incipient lovers,
A tactile trick that each gender discovers.

BIGAMIST

2010-04-26T11:40:00.000-07:00

To choose between them he clearly was loath,
So in the end he decided on both.

BURGEONING BOSOM

2010-04-26T10:50:00.000-07:00

Her burgeoning bosom kept lovers at bay,
Except for the others who liked them that way.

IMPETUOSITY

2010-04-22T10:36:00.000-07:00

Time should restrain the impetuous lover:
The pendulum’s swinging ought to be slower.

GIRLS

2010-04-20T11:19:00.000-07:00

Incremental advances
Can tickle their fancies.

COUPLING

2010-04-12T10:05:00.000-07:00

Couples are part of the magic of love:
They match up together like hand and glove.

LOVE'S ENDORSEMENT

2010-04-06T09:22:00.000-07:00

Every wedding ring roundly endorses
That love is the king of nature’s forces.

SECOND CHANCE

2010-04-04T09:45:00.001-07:00

That first romance was to last her life through;
Her next best chance was as wife number two.

DIVORCING

2010-03-25T06:09:00.000-07:00

Couples tend to spend more time in their courting
Than ever’s done in the course of divorcing.

INFATUATION

2010-03-09T08:09:00.001-08:00

Infatuation brings couples together;
Dissatisfaction will part them, however.

LOVE'S CHEMISTRY

2009-10-05T11:37:00.001-07:00

Lovers’ temerity
Stems from their chemistry.

FEMALE PERCEPTION

2009-05-08T05:48:00.001-07:00

Perceptive women discovered one day
They might want to love, but needn’t obey.

PRESENCE

2009-04-24T10:09:00.000-07:00

If absence makes the heart grow fonder,
Presence must make it beat the stronger.

SIGHS

2009-04-24T10:06:00.000-07:00

Of all the signs of despair that exist,
Love’s sighs must bide at the top of the list.

MISTRESSES

2009-04-07T08:01:00.001-07:00

Most young gentlemen, learning life’s mysteries,
Ask if young ladies yearn to be mistresses.

NEW SPOUSE

2009-04-07T05:50:00.000-07:00

Not long since a bachelor, now a spouse,
He’ll need to enhance his DIY nous.

LOVE'S MENU

2009-04-06T11:00:00.000-07:00

Every emotion can offer a menu;
Love’s is lust, care, and affection.

PHONING HOME

2009-03-31T10:04:00.001-07:00

As winter winds down, to fresh thoughts we cling
Of lengthening days and the rise of spring.

LOVE

2009-03-26T13:30:00.000-07:00

In every facet of which it’s possessed,
Love is the passion that heads all the rest.

ROMANCING

2009-03-20T12:56:00.000-07:00

Soft music when dancing
Can lead to romancing.

TIFFS

2009-03-02T10:55:00.000-08:00

Putting all your domestic tiffs to rights
Is bound to precipitate restless nights.

HEARTS

2009-02-24T10:03:00.000-08:00

Our brains are but tools:
It’s the heart that rules.

EAGER SWEETHEARTS

2009-02-24T09:59:00.000-08:00

Eager young sweethearts and boys
Act like each other ones’ toys;
And some of the games they play
Could catch them carried away.

ON APPROVAL

2009-02-24T09:15:00.001-08:00

He found, from his earlier cavorting,
On approval the best way of courting.

VALENTINE SENIOR

2009-02-22T11:21:00.001-08:00

This was our wish,
And we know it came true.
You’re still loving me,
And I’m still loving you.

HESITANCE

2009-02-01T10:13:00.001-08:00

Love is a worry to hesitant men:
They know what they want, but can’t decide when.

INSENSITIVITY

2009-01-22T11:01:00.000-08:00

He found out too late
She’d suddenly departed.
He’d made the mistake
Of taking her for granted.

MARITAL SPATS

2009-01-22T09:03:00.001-08:00

Sometimes domestic disputes get involved;
Bedtime’s when many such spats are resolved.

JOCKEY

2009-01-09T10:11:00.001-08:00

The amorous jockey won the last laugh
When he walked his mare down the bridal path.

HEIGHT MATTERS

2008-12-21T10:36:00.000-08:00

When seeking a mate, she reminded herself
He ought to be taller, to reach the top shelf.

SPARKLE AND SPICE

2008-12-04T08:32:00.000-08:00

What better brings sparkle and spice to life
Than couples becoming husband and wife?

EAGERNESS

2008-11-03T09:20:00.001-08:00

The look of love imbues her eyes
With eagerness she can’t disguise.

SECRECY

2008-10-30T11:41:00.001-07:00

When secrecy ceases,
Love’s ardour decreases.

NO RETURN

2008-10-13T10:24:00.000-07:00

Their marriage became of greatest concern
When both passed the insult of no return.

LOVED ONES

2008-10-11T11:17:00.000-07:00

We hasten to welcome occasional guests
While lacking regard for the ones we love best.

PARTNERSHIP

2008-10-10T10:30:00.001-07:00

One asks questions, the other explains;
The pendulum swings, so neither gains;
Each the other one always sustains.

HOMELY AND KINDLY

2008-10-03T13:25:00.001-07:00

A homely face and a kindly manner
Often bring man and woman together.

LOVING'S EMOTION

2008-10-03T10:09:00.001-07:00

Love is the summit of living’s emotion;
Let us submit to it with our devotion.

MARITAL PROWESS

2008-10-02T13:35:00.000-07:00

Not an adventure intended for cowards,
Marriage needs adequate marital prowess.

CHECKS AND BALANCES

2008-09-24T10:11:00.000-07:00

Those who achieve the happiest marriages
Clearly succeed with their checks and balances.

AFFECTION

2008-09-23T11:17:00.001-07:00

Opening sex to closer inspection
Disposes courters to greater affection.

BLUSHING

2008-09-23T10:19:00.001-07:00

Other than lovers who’ve taken to blushing
Know the direction in which they’ve been pushing.

TEEN ROMANCE

2008-09-15T11:16:00.000-07:00

In the tentative stage of teen romance,
Predictability hasn’t a chance.

MATURING LOVE

2008-09-10T12:58:00.001-07:00

Self-love considers its own comfort first,
Until in real love it becomes immersed.

PAMPERING

2008-09-03T10:04:00.001-07:00

Young lady lovers like to feel pampered;
Lacking the means, young swains feel hampered.

LOVE'S EVOCATION

2008-08-28T11:38:00.000-07:00

Among the emotions in which we're engrossed,
It's constantly love that evokes memories most.

HEART OVER MIND

2008-08-28T11:37:00.000-07:00

The strength of mind on reasoning’ part
Can not outsmart the stealth of the heart.

YOUNG LOVERS

2008-08-26T08:21:00.001-07:00

Fill in space, then block out time,
And let young lovers entwine.

WEDLOCK

2008-08-17T04:36:00.001-07:00

Marriage can tease you if fretting with doubt
About life within and living without.

REMEMBRANCE

2008-08-03T09:21:00.001-07:00

An aching heart will not forget:
It must remember and regret.

NEWLY-WEDS

2008-07-29T12:49:00.000-07:00

Self-satisfaction on newly-weds’ faces
Won’t augur well for marriage’s challenges.

MARRIAGE

2008-07-17T10:17:00.000-07:00

Families gather when people get married:
A totem of permanence often disparaged.

ILLICIT DELIGHT

2008-07-14T09:13:00.000-07:00

Like a nightly moth that’s attracted to light,
She’s under the spell of illicit delight.

ALLUREMENT

2008-07-10T10:13:00.000-07:00

When girlhood all its allurement deploys,
That’s the inducement for boys to be boys.

ROSY FUTURE

2008-07-09T09:37:00.000-07:00

Bring me a bottle of rosy wine
And the rosy girl who'll soon be mine
To share our chattels and love divine.
Bring her a bottle of rosy wine.

LOVING LIFE

2008-07-03T09:23:00.000-07:00

Can they who have reached the end of their span
Without love, have lived as well as man can?

DUELS

2008-06-15T03:53:00.000-07:00

Dire duels for love, once fought in reality,
Are now meekly sought in theatrical tragedy.

LOVE POEMS

2008-06-15T03:52:00.000-07:00

While led into logic fairly and squarely,
Men are lulled into loving unawarely.

TUG OF LOVE

2008-06-15T03:51:00.000-07:00

In loving’s mighty tug of war,
A kindly heart might override
What lofty knowledge could provide,
To stake a claim love can’t ignore.

PUPPY LOVE

2008-05-22T03:52:00.000-07:00

Puppy love, we all learn,
Though intense, is short-term.

THE PROPHECY

2008-05-15T04:37:00.000-07:00

Her gown, in quite prophetic taste,
Portrayed a fulsome spinnaker;
A sail majestic, though misplaced,
It billowed handsomely before her.

The music ceased, and near her drew
A man of aspect slightly stressed,
Another, seemingly on cue,
In solemn ceremonials dressed.

Then through the throng a whisper spread,
As ripple-rings grow on water,
Released when someone deftly said:
‘The money is on a daughter!’

THAT GLINT

2008-05-14T09:00:00.000-07:00

With that glint in her eye
She would know he’d comply.

SUITORS

2008-05-14T08:58:00.000-07:00

Formerly she’d have been found a suitor:
Latterly finds her suitably cuter.

JEALOUSY

2008-05-10T13:38:00.001-07:00

Mainly the jealous may wish to prevent
A love affair with creative intent.

JILTED

2008-05-10T13:36:00.000-07:00

Unfortunate men who find themselves jilted
Might find it’s because their vigour has wilted.

THE ROOM

2008-04-15T05:06:00.000-07:00

More cold than crisping snow he lay

In frosted room,

Lit sole by gloom

Descending slow from sober day.

Through fading scent, that place of rent

Retained the blame

Of sordid shame;

He feared that soon he'd sore repent.

A creaking board, three knocks, a pause;

In pity, she

Returned her fee

As some release from deep remorse.

She let her body him through,

Dispelled his plight;

They saw the light

And lived in love. More cautious, too!

PLACE AND TIME

2008-04-15T05:00:00.000-07:00

I wander back in time to see

The place where first we met;

And yet my memory's depths conceal

The spot I now forget.

How strange, how sad, that later haunts

Of lesser worth remain;

How madly they return to taunt

My disenchanted brain.

No less I seek that gift sublime,

The moment we first kissed;

Embraced within the book of time,

Its imprint must exist.

HARMONY

2008-04-15T04:50:00.000-07:00

Sing me a song and I'll read you a rhyme.

Paint me a flower that's always in bloom,

I'll grow you a rose to last for all time.

If you'll be my bride, then I'll be your groom.

For love is a balance with equal weights,

And marriage a truce where neither dictates.

---

See also Love and Marriage in Bitesize Poems Extra

DOZING

2008-04-14T11:25:00.000-07:00

On Sunday morning there lay we,
Like doormice dozing in their tree:
One called you, the other called me.

THE DANCER AND THE BIRDER

2008-04-14T11:04:00.000-07:00

It had the things I'd need to carry me

Away to where I wished to be;

No fare to pay, no licence fee.

What then I did, could do,

Without a thought for how

It came about - by whom invented-

Relied entirely on the muscular

Propulsion I invested.

On roads erstwhile of quieter demeanour,

I ventured where the birds I read about

In books, and yearned to see,

Would be most likely to occur.

And thus, on hills of Derbyshire,

Red grouse and restless whinchat

First I saw; then lay in wait abed

On springy heath until my sought

Ring-ouzel on a mossy rock appeared.

With overjoy I heard, beside a stream,

Those shivering, sibilant notes

That clearly from only the delicate

Wood-warbler so joyfully float.

On routes I planned with map outspread,

Through habitats from meres and shores

To woodlands, parks and moors,

My species-record leaped ahead.

With, oh, what speed I'd range awheel,

And yet how slow I'd been to feel

The tempered point of Cupid's dart,

Or sense the potency his art

Of lover-matching could impart.

Outdoor pursuits and sports and school

Contrived to overrule romance

And totally preclude all thought

That I should ever deign to dance.

But, suddenly, the impulse fired

To share my interest in birds

With fresh desire; though that implied

A dancer's steps I'd need acquire.

Alas, some lack of rhythm meant

My true-love's ornithology

Became more swiftly competent

Than my attempted artistry.

If only I'd devised the artifice

Of equalling her progress through

Some extra-mural practice in her arms!

Whate'er - our coaching reciprocity soon shaped

A birder out of her: a dancer out of me.

Anon, we cycled off, along life's twisting lanes,

To add some lines of genealogy

And, in due time, to celebrate

Our Golden Anniversary!

To return to A Portal to Poetry click here.

THE COMB

2008-04-14T10:56:00.000-07:00

You left the bus-stop with a seat,

And names cut in the window sill;

Then further on, along the street,

You shot off right, beside the mill?

I bet the cut-through lane's still blocked.

You'd have to take the river route.

But did you find the gate unlocked

That lets you jump the water-shoot?

You must have seen the fallen log

With stinging-nettles at the end;

And that new bench the grumpies hog

- Enough to drive you round the bend!

So, somewhere after that you found

This funny-looking purple comb,

Just sort of lying on the ground,

You say. But why, then, take it home?

CHANGELING

2008-04-14T10:50:00.000-07:00

It's likely she'd have wed

Bold Thomas Gray

Who rolled her on his bed

And made his play.

But she would not be led

Though willing lay:

In mind how mother'd pled

She wouldn't stray.

Frustrated so, he pledged

To hie away

Where mercenaries tread,

On glory pay.

This plagued her mind. In dread

She begged him stay:

They'd see his pleasures fed,

Yet rules obey.

Thus, vows were made that they'd,

By due delay,

Respect her maidenhead

Ere wedding day.

Tom little dreamt she'd shed

Her former way

And start to live, instead,

The life's that gay.

THE BRIDGE OF LOVE

2008-04-14T10:42:00.000-07:00

And there it stands, in balanced harmony:

A sturdy foot set firm on either bank

With arms outstretched, each reaching half the way,

To form a lasting link from flank to flank.

Throughout uncounted years it's well withstood

All ravages of ageing and abuse:

A ceaseless daily to and fro that could

For parting or collapse have made excuse.

Impatient hearts that now together plan

The raging turbulence of life to taste,

With empathy and sympathy their span

Should build, on true affection firmly based.

THE BOUNTY OF LOVE

2008-04-14T10:30:00.000-07:00

Once, kings requiring men for war,

In conquest or the realm's defence,

Would pledge to those whose needs were sore

A bounty as their recompense.

Far greater gains by some were won:

With profit's spur, not that of need,

For fees they caught men on the run,

Their creed derived from bounty-greed.

Now turn, with hope, to brighter scenes,

Where lives of love with vows are bound,

And expectations nurture dreams

That Nature's bounty may be found.

APRIL SUN

2008-04-14T10:17:00.000-07:00

No frosted breath, no misted panes

Today. Our senses greet the spring

With joy that timely pleasures bring,

Replacing days of winter's banes.

From cricket through to nightingale,

Each creature sings in fullest voice;

And even bleating lambs rejoice

To welcome home the migrant quail.

A couple blessed by blossomed trees,

Who savour sights of new-born flowers,

With passioned vows fill courting hours,

The while imparting whispered dreams.

Love's influential chemistry

Ensures this pair will, by and by,

Reveal their bond to peeping sky

In joy-inspired immodesty.

Discreetly hid from eyes on earth

In April sun's caressing rays,

The youthful urge mankind obeys

May seed next January's birth!

THE LARK

2008-04-10T12:47:00.000-07:00

Sing, oh sing to me lark on high

As I in this flowered meadow lie;

So fair a day we both pretend

Is far too magical to end.

Those mystic notes you pour on me

Compose the sweetest melody;

No need to hide my secret love

When all is clear from skies above.

So find a space to rest awhile

As I await her greeting smile;

Then sing your best to match her charms:

Perfection curled within my arms.

And when your song her heart's impressed

I'll tell about your lovesome nest,

And you will trill with feigned surprise

To see the lovelight in her eyes.

THE LAKE

2008-04-10T11:17:00.000-07:00

A placid place on summer days;

On waters glistening in their ease

Pied tufted-duck and mallard laze;

Loud rooks confer in nearby trees

And browsing cows, with idle gaze,

Flick listless ears on grassy leas.

Each changing aspect soon reveals

New views of nature's harmony:

Above, the swift in high arc wheels

To work his aerial artistry,

While through the weeds the bunting steals,

Disdaining such agility.

Love's carefree season lingers so,

Enwrapped in like placidity,

Absorbing passion's ebb and flow

With joyful equanimity.

Oblivious of the passing show,

It nestles in tranquility.

Across the countryside, it seems

To leisured passers-by, who find

A mellowness in autumn scenes,

That days are of a settled kind

Now nature has fulfilled its schemes;

But truth is of a different mind.

With nestlings grown and safely fledged,

Winged residents of summer-stay

- Whose sojourn lends us privilege -

Must parting-instinct soon obey

To quit their homes by reed and sedge

For warmer quarters, far away.

The path, so smooth, young love pursues

May sometimes, unexpected, lead

To situations that induce

Concerns from which rash doubts proceed:

One untold day-away can fuse

A greater grief than e'er it need.

When clouds across the heavens rip,

How starkly-different winter's mien;

Chill water strives, 'gainst ice's grip

And furrows bear a frosty sheen;

Thin, cutting winds the pastures whip

To scour the sprigs where fruits have been.

Amid the gloom of waning day,

Where water deep defies the cold,

A cormorant in quest of prey

Must dive, to depths untold,

But casts behind a sparkling spray

Whose drops a million diamonds hold.

Thus can the warmth of love that's deep

A timeless, vital place enfold,

Where two from hurt their hearts may keep,

Defeating bleakest doubts they've told;

And thence a fresh new hope may leap:

A jewelled brightness to behold.

The lakeside hedge where warblers played,

But now devoid of bud and leaf,

With ageless craft is trimmed and laid;

Stout twigs, bound tight as wheat in sheaf,

By hazel woven into braid,

Protect young lambs from cunning thief.

Then comes the verdant burst of spring

To dab the twigs and boughs with green,

Adorning their awakening.

Birds sing, and build, and brood, and preen

While flowers flaunt their petaling,

Reflecting reproductive themes.

Two lovers, bathed in evening's glow,

To strains of music now impart

Their wish the seed of life to sow;

Then, after slow and tender start,

Both sense their yearnings overflow:

Embracing - heart to beating heart.

---

FINANCIAL ROMANCE

2008-04-10T03:29:00.000-07:00

No multiple spreadsheets

Remind them of bedsheets.

Stuck with columns and rows,

How can lovers propose?

The best they can manage

Is costing out marriage.

In the world of finance

They're bereft of romance.

THE DOE-EYED GIRL

2008-04-05T08:21:00.000-07:00

He coded her name from something she'd worn,

The doe-eyed beauty who'd stolen his heart.

Her waving goodbye had left him forlorn,

And memory bade his cipher depart.

Some time elapsed but, though she was older,

Her name came back the instant he'd seen her

Return his query, over her shoulder,

The doe-eyed girl who'd worn a pashmina.

DEMURE

2008-04-05T08:20:00.000-07:00

Seldom the lady of aspect demure
Takes second place in respect of allure.

FALLING IN LOVE

2008-04-05T08:16:00.000-07:00

When dealings which fail are said to fall through;
When schemes that fall short one oughtn't pursue;
When falling back is a sign of defeat;
Falling in love doesn't sound like a treat!

EARLY WARNING

2008-04-05T08:14:00.000-07:00

The kid on his trike and the chick looking shy
Might one day marry, not knowing quite why.

CONSPIRING EYES

2008-04-05T08:12:00.000-07:00

The birth of desire

Is what eyes conspire;

What his lips confess

Is her eyes' success.

FINEST TME

2008-04-05T08:10:00.000-07:00

It's the finest time of one's mortal span:
When man loves woman, and woman loves man.