Wayne Michael DeHart   (June, 2023)

Writer’s Note:  The late Leonard Cohen added many,  many unheralded verses to his cherished “Hallelujah” on his way to completing the classic piece, though only a few are usually heard. “Many, many” is likely wishful thinking in this case, but it is my intention to add verses to this open-ended poem over time, because . . . why not?
So we raise our glasses high, where love is in the air, and we fill them, the way we always dreamed we would, as a chorus of high-spirited voices endorse the moment – ”  Hear! Hear!”

♦

Lassie Lynn and Aladdin Finn
met years ago in the park
at the end of the road,
near the old sawmill
where their dads
hacked logs
on third
shift.
♥
Each
of them
fast taken
with the other.
As sunset drew nigh,
he held her hand in his;
she gently tousled his hair.
Lassie Lynn and Aladdin Finn.

∞

The widow Stone and Patrick Strong
danced a waltz at an Elks lodge
in Fort Wayne, Indiana,
on a Saturday night
last November,
nose to nose,
eyes shut,
awed.
♥
Love
grew fast
in their hearts;
breathing as one,
proclaiming their bond,
perceiving their closeness,
with lifted souls and high hopes.
The widow Stone and Patrick Strong.

∞

Nicole Gentry and Maggie Malone,
longtime lovers, lifetime friends,
condo-cohabitated in Wells,
“Maine’s Friendliest Town.”
They hiked and biked,
laughed and cried,
fished, swam,
talked.
♥
Kissed
at dawn,
and at dusk,
and in between;
cool, calm, spirited,
both secure, feeling free,
living the dream, their destiny.
Nicole Gentry and Maggie Malone.

∞