Unfailing Wings

His wings cut through the air like a knife.
So elegantly he shot across the sky.
A most beautiful song of all his life,
It rang in his ears as he let out a cry

A cry for passion, a cry for love.
He saw below him his destination.
He swooped down low, following a dove.
It was all now clear, no more love deprivation.

He lands softly in the courtyard,
He turned back to a man, eyes of green.
He looked around, then noticed a bard.
He sang a song, but what did it mean?

A song of days, a song of nights.
The story unfolds in the fields of glory.
Men standing strong yet falling in fights,
While all their wives fall weeping in worry

The man listened to every word,
Knowing the meaning in the bard's voice.
Of man he was, but of soul a bird,
That was always his treasured choice.

He climbed the stairs before him.
Moving oh so slowly.
His heart was leery as all the lights grew dim.
Only time would tell if he'd still be lonely

There, a door, would he open or not?
His always steady hand began to shake.
His heart began to race, he was deep in thought.
He reached for the handle, he had to for love's sake

The door opened slowly to a room of blue,
There on a throne of gold, a woman in red.
Their eyes met as she smiled and said "You".
It was then that his loneliness was dead.

"I've waited a lifetime to see your smile,"
Her words pierced his hear like an arrow
"I am the reason you traveled many a mile,"
It was then he realized he was shaking like a sparrow.

Her voice so sweet her eyes like an emerald.
His palms became damp
No more did his heart feel cold,
It was then he felt on his heart her gentle clamp.

Before his eyes he saw her change
He knew right then he had no reason for fear.
His mind fought hard but found nothing strange.
As she pulled him oh so near.

A gentle kiss she laid on his cheek.
His heart filled up with love from that.
He held her tightly though he could not speak
As she went from woman, to dove and back.

This was the dove he followed through the night
This was his life, his love, the cure for his wounded heart.
For many a year he held the fight,
Now nothing would ever keep them apart.

This story still echoes in every song.
From old to young it conquers time.
It's told in versions short and long,
This is the story of a love that's mine.

Anthony J. Contino, 1995

(this poem was written for someone very special to me many years ago, and will always be cherished. I have seen the lines of this text echo before me many times but never could live it to the fullest. Love is the purest form of fear when not understood. It can be wonderful, or it can be torturous. No matter what we feel about love, when not given a chance, all we do is add another layer of pain and stone to an already wounded heart.)