A Melody Of Love Poem by Edmund Calleja

(What makes aging hard to bear is not the failing of one's facilities
mental and physical, but the burden of one's memories)

In the darkness of my Soul
There is a secret room,
And there I have kept hidden
A love awaiting bloom.

There is a tiny corner
Where love has been imprisoned,
Where lovers never met
If not when I envisioned.

You were my shining star
So distant and so near,
Would it I could release you
What would I have to fear?

I longed to kiss your lips
And feel your heaving breath,
But you could never love me
Your unknowing was my death.

I never found the courage
To show you my desire,
I never should have waited
For heartbeats to expire.

In all my restless nights
And all my lonely yearning,
I needed you beside me
For you my heart was burning.

I would write a song for you
If I only knew the words,
I could sing it then for you
Or I’d send it with the birds.

I would light that tiny corner
And would paint it with my dream,
I would call you and beseech you
For your love I’d even scream.

For this Melody of Love
Though now silent and forgotten,
Has been treasured and attired
In fine wool and loving cotton.