I wrote this poem to a woman I fell for about 6 months after returning from Los Angeles. Like me she had just been through a similarly traumatic relationship. Unfortunately it didn’t develop past an enjoyment of each other’s company: me, being my normal emotional “too much” and she, fearful and too damaged to move on. So it ended but what remains is this poem and I’m pretty proud of it. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did reading it again.
If I Promised
If I promised
Not to love you,
Could we be together forever?
Could we look
Up at the stars,
And not say how we felt?
If I promised
Not to need you,
Could we hold each other?
Could we touch
Like dew on flowers,
And not feel anything more?
If I promised
Not to want you,
Could we kiss just once?
Could we embrace
As stars and moonlight,
And breathless not lose ourselves?
If I promised
Not to love you,
Could you promise not to love back?
SWANY (2013) Copyright.