Lines To Poem by jim hogg

And if I can remember
What I couldn't help but love
And if even part of that
Still holds as true
As when we knew each other truly
Then maybe I can bear to lose
The skin deep things
The qualities of youth
That work the initial
But not the lasting
Magic of love
For the silky smooth grows lined
The gypsy fades to grey
And time keeps stealing from the eyes
All this I know too well
When I catch myself
Unsuspecting
In a shop front window
Where you might be too
And not recognise or be recognised

I suppose there's a tender
and tragic beauty
In this failing and fading
But I'm not afraid
Of what we'll see - yet -
Should we meet again love,
Unless,
We've lost too much
Of the best we had within us once.
I pray that I'll catch sight
Of the little things
That came from the heart
Depicting that inner balance
In which I longed to share;
The absence of affectation
Your irresistible honesty.
And pray there's still something here
Of what touched you too
So long ago

I tried to fix myself of course
By writing songs
You might be amused to hear
As if this was a disease
As if I could exorcise
The demons of lost love
By charming them into other rooms
Other ears
And sundry halls
By means of minor chords
And anguished words
To sicken them with endless recitals.
And drafted a lengthy tale
With you as principal,
Baffling the best minds on the planet.
All to no avail or worse
As every curative design
Seemed to breathe new vigour
Into those oh so seductive memories.

Eventually it came to me
Why charge up the past by fighting it?
Accept the beauty of what was
And carry it in its place
Which doesn't mean it matters less.
If we met tomorrow
I would still be a mess

But still I wonder where you are love?
Walking on some nearby city street
With your languid elegance
Glimpsing the years
In that sobering window
And wondering too?
Or with your family
Round the table of a lifetime of love?
Long past what might have been
And happy now?
I hope so with all my heart,
But miss you still,
No less than ever.


09 11 06