Love: 1998 - 2016 (Part V: Repentance)

By Bud Koenemund

For "Her."

Oh, Lady; I believed, and so oft’ swore

My passion, like the stars, would never cool –

Thy heart held in mine, forever adored.

Alas, love, once more, has proved me a fool.

These words have grown repetitive; complaints

Monotonous – despite intention pure –

And fervor neglected has finally waned,

For you could not be mine as I was yours.

The offense lies tattooed upon my soul –

Indelible, and irredeemable –

As life, it seems, demands a monstrous toll;

Leaving voice censured, and mind unstable.

   I do at last repent that affection;

   Praying some power will grant redemption.

This Sonnet is a Requiem for Love

For "Her."

This sonnet is a requiem for love
Once blinding and hot as the August sun,
Now faded, awaiting the early fall of
Leaves as winter’s chill cools spring’s passion;
I do here repent the words, penned for thee
While I languished in love unrequited,
Tortured by touches used to deceive,
And forced from Diana’s table unsated;
For too long I sought asylum in your
Memory, finding instead a prison
Of false solace, and my mind given o’er
To an Ophelian loss of reason.
I pray my heart, like a phoenix, shall rise;
Reborn to delight in a new love’s eyes.