Tag: Poetry

Trust And Love

Posted on by Joe Merkle

They go hand in hand

Which comes first? Love or trust? Can you love without first trusting the one you are sharing it with? Can you trust someone without first experiencing love on some level with said person? Or, are they simply the left and right hands of any feel-good human relationship?

The vast majority of humans learn to trust before they have any concept of love. Their parents and family are the ones they depend on for their daily sustenance and comfort. Their reliance on them is the spark that instills trust. Loving parents and siblings shower them with love. We are surrounding them in a cocoon of protection from the harsh reality of once again being in the flesh.

Most of us are conceived from an act of love. We exist because of God’s love for us.

Trust and love go hand in hand. Is it possible to have one without the other? When we truly love we are trusting ourselves to be a vehicle for that love. No matter the consequences. We choose to trust love regardless of the consequences. When we place our trust in someone it will always contain some level of love. Be it a friend, coworker, lover, or lifelong partner.

Can we love someone without trusting them?
Can we trust someone without some level of love for them?
Which came first? The chicken or the egg?
Which comes first? Love or trust?

I have experienced this from both sides. Placing trust in others eventually led to some level of love for them. And I have experienced a deep, lasting, forever love the moment I met the woman I married and shared my life with. This has led me to more evidence of love bonds from past life experiences.

How can you instantly love someone (that soul connection) without an inkling of trust guiding you? Trusting that inner wisdom?

And then we can play word games. If we combine the two words with a twist we get lust and trove. So is a trove of lust equal to a trusting love? Can mad passionate sex open the doors to a loving, trusting relationship? You be the judge. After all, if you can’t trust yourself can you ever experience self-love?

© 2022 Joe Merkle All rights reserved.

This was originally published on Medium.com.

Your Shadow on the Wall

Posted on by Joe Merkle

Dancing in the dark

Photo by Martino Pietropoli on Unsplash

I’m just another ghost
In this lonely ghost town
Searching for what I’ve lost
Hoping to avoid a meltdown

Streets that once contained substance
Now avenues of by-gone memories
Oozing ethereal persistence
No longer resembling terrestrial reality

I drift among the pictures hung
Upon the hallway walls
Where many songs were sung
When your touch was my cure-all

Now it’s your shadow on the wall
I see it plainly, a shining landmark
My love’s port of call
As we dance in the dark

©2022 Joe Merkle All rights reserved

Originally published on Medium.com https://medium.com/p/5866c375a5d6

Lover’s Poem

Posted on by Joe Merkle
Image by Pixaby
 When we meet 
 We shall touch the stars
 The little children will laugh at us
 And to each we shall teach love 

 And we’ll float on the soft summer breeze
 I’ll carve our initials in the clouds
 And in a fleeting moment
 That which not tangible shall succumb 

 And our love will become inimitable 

 We’ll explore the silver sum
 And search for the silver man
 And will mix the colors on the palette
 And paint the world 

 Then we’ll say our good-byes
 And no regrets will there be
 Only happy memories we share 
 And our initials in the clouds

I Never Thought To Ask

Posted on by Joe Merkle

Mom and Dad, there are so many things
I never thought to ask
I was busy then trying to answer who am I
Not wondering about the past

Now I find myself in my twilight years
Wishing once again you were still here
Just to come back to the feeling of home
That I’ve missed now for so many years

Time and space seem meaningless in moments
So clear to me now upon reflection
It’s not just your wisdom I yearn for again
It’s your hugs and kisses I shared so many times with you

Dad, I would ask if you were still here with me
What got you through each day while away
In World War II, never having met your newborn boy yet
And how badly you missed mom, the love of your life

And how you managed to glide through life
No matter what came along the way
With an easy grace and a smile on your face
Handshakes and hugs that lit the way

And Mom, I would ask of you
How you got through each day
With dad so far and in harm’s way
While raising your baby boy alone

These and so many things
I never thought to ask
I was busy then creating a life
Not wondering about the past

Both of you set the stage
For me to be the star in a life filled with love
For this my gratitude is limitless
Forever will you be in my heart

I understand that the two you
Were the building blocks that formed
Just who I am, the man I’ve become
It won’t be long now before we meet again