Innocent-love is cursed with lack of sight;
and so, through blind-faith puts good-sense aside.
Long suffering-love imagines what might
have been; thus, emptiness is justified.
Blinded-love will abandon dignity,
it will forsake its need for nourishment;
and so deluded-love craves eternity.
Despite no promise, nor encouragement,
this kind-love, this gullible-emotion,
submits wholly to offers of affection;
and so, is diminished through devotion
to a cause that offers no protection:
. Love’s condition: in disarray, in parts;
. no position to counsel broken hearts.

© Tim Grace, 31 August 2011

To the reader: How often do we see common-sense overwhelmed by a good-cause? Humans, by nature, are emotionally driven. Our first reaction is to feel then respond with an after-thought. Strong emotions can render our thoughts powerless; defenceless and in disarray. Love, of all emotions, has the power to blind-side a rational mind. Love at first-sight … was the last thing she saw.

To the poet: This sonnet, with all its clunky phrasing, is gasping for breath. In an act of resuscitation it’s been given a second-life numerous times; and still it rattles. Punctuated with stops and starts; hyphenated with dots and dashes; ventilated with intensive care. High-dependency on specialist-care is not a good sign for lasting success; this love-sick sonnet limps between treatments.

love’s condition