Incremental Poetry ~ 60 Lines

Until Death

With our first embrace, you took away my breath;
from that day I knew I’d love you until death.
First I thought us friends—acquaintances at best;
how was I to know through you I’d be so blessed?
As time went by, you taught me to laugh and sing,
and you convinced me I could do anything.
You showed me both how to love and to forgive,
taught me I must die to selfish pride to live.
I also learned from you true humility—
that lesson taught, my darling, you let me be.
With our first embrace, you took away my breath;
from that day I knew I’d love you until death.

First I thought us friends—acquaintances at best;
how was I to know through you I’d be so blessed?
That you, of all the people I’ve come to know,
would stoop to be my savior and love me so?
I couldn’t know, when we met, it would be you
whom God would use to rescue me, guide me through
the darkest night these blind eyes had ever known,
help me see the brightest colors ever shown
to a weak and common mortal such as I—
Now I stand so tall that I can touch the sky!
With our first embrace, you took away my breath;
from that day I knew I’d love you until death.

As time went by, you taught me to laugh and sing,
and you convinced me I could do anything.
Perhaps that’s the reason I enjoy success
at doing what I love. But I must confess,
my favorite task is finding ways to please
the man I love—and I don’t say that to tease.
I’ve come to learn that you too, at times, are weak,
so I seek to lift you up by how I speak.
My words of affirmation, darling, are true
as I aim your wounded spirit to renew.
With our first embrace, you took away my breath;
from that day I knew I’d love you until death.

You showed me both how to love and to forgive,
taught me I must die to selfish pride to live.
Those lessons were never easy pills to take,
but I did my best to learn them for your sake.
So many times I failed, and I let you down;
but never once did you greet me with a frown.
A timely rebuke you gave me, to be sure,
but always your motive was to make me pure.
And after the chastisement, there was a hug;
never in all my life did I feel more snug.
With our first embrace, you took away my breath;
from that day I knew I’d love you until death.

I also learned from you true humility—
that lesson taught, my darling, you let me be.
It was the greatest and final thing I learned,
and since that day, empty, aching arms have yearned
to feel your warmth, as enfolding, they surround
the one I love, who’s now lying in the ground.
Yet this is but your shell—you above await
to greet me when I enter through that fair Gate.
It may be years from now, it may be today,
no matter. When I get there, you know I’ll say,
“With our first embrace, you took away my breath;
from that day I knew I’d love you until death.”

Copyright © 2020 Abigail Gronway – All Rights Reserved

Welcome to my series, Incremental Poetry, where each week the featured poem will be one line longer than the one I share the week before. I have no idea how long I’ll keep this up, so we’ll just have to wait and see. Thank you for stopping by.

Scansion:
Licentia Rhyme
invented by Laura Lamarca of AllPoetry.com
a poem of 60 lines, consisting of five 12-line stanzas
Isosyllabic: 11 syllables per line
Rhyme Scheme: AA’BB’CC’DD’EE’AA’ BB’ffgghhiiAA’ CC’jjkkllmmAA’, etc.
It is a refrain poem with the nth couplet of the first stanza being the first couplet of the nth stanza, and the first couplet is also the final couplet of every stanza.
Meter is optional.