JULIE ANN STEVENS

True love

Deepens with the

Passage of time

Through distance

And silence,

It stays on the wings

Of each lover’s dreams

Emerges in the

Quiet corners of surrender

A warm soothing hand

That asks nothing

Needs nothing

Exists in spite of

And because of

Cannot be willed into being

Or wished away

True love simply is

Is the air we breathe without thinking

The sun that warms but does not burn

The loose embrace that holds fast

While setting free

True love dances only

When it is time

And not before

It comes without being called

And its presence lights

The darkest solo crossings

True love

The love of changed lives

And new hearts

Cannot, will not

Be ignored

It gives confidently

Expecting nothing in return

And its greatest reward is the act of loving.

© Julie Stevens 2001