Love conquered—though I fought valiantly
Until my heart could bear no more the pain,
And there I knelt, head bowed on bended knee,
As she clasped round my neck the golden chain;
‘“I am your slave I said, your slave for life.”
“You are,” said she, “for this and that beyond!”
“Show mercy! I have a child and a wife!”
“No more, my dear —  they will not last for long.”
I was well kept—each earthly want indulged,
Though day by day the bonds did heavier grow;
Awash in wine, dark secrets she divulged,
I pined each day for times I used to know;
To my surprise, gold links began to rust—
‘Twas then I knew: this love was naught but lust.

© Loubert S Suddaby. All Rights Reserved.

What miracle of life, what wonder so,
That through our sacred senses beauty tends
To shape within the mind and there bestow
Great joys that may with sorrow still contend.
Thus so with eyes I see a beauty bright,
With eager ears I hear endearing sounds,
Her warm embrace and kisses, pure delight—
Wherein touch, taste and sweetest scents abound.
Yet senses are but agents from abroad,
Who have returned to bring in measured form
Some semblance of a truth that may cloak fraud,
Though by gestalt, create an image charmed.
Some beauties are but well constructed schemes
That in the dawning, fade like sultry dreams.

© Loubert S Suddaby. All Rights Reserved.

I tossed a pebble to the raging sea
From off a craggy cliff where I stood sure;
That simple polished stone—my utmost plea—
Within it, all my final prayers immured;
The gods took heed, and wild waves grew calm,
Dark burly clouds gave way to lucid light;
On humbled breath I hummed a reverent psalm,
As ominous grey bowed low to colors bright.
The darkest shadows yield before the dawn,
As hope ascends with heaven’s pure intent—
So may our demons fall to faith-born stones
And from that pit, triumphant our ascent.
Unlikely victory is by hope begun—
Where David chose his five, I chose but one.

© Loubert S Suddaby. All Rights Reserved.

I wandered through the garden, thoughts on you,
‘Midst effervescent colors and perfumes,
A sash of mottled green on trellis blue
Recalled the  dress you wore that day in June.
Warm dappled sunlight laughed upon the wall,
A wood-thrush trilled your tribute to my ears;
A butterfly, my fluttering heart did stall,
As briefly, vision blurred through brimming tears.
A gentle breeze brought whispers of those times—
Dear love we thought on hope would never end;
The distant tinkling of the garden chimes
Now smites my heart, and tears spill down again.
There in love’s shadowed gardens of my mind
Both solace and sweet sadness do I find.

© Loubert S Suddaby. All Rights Reserved.

‘Twere better we had parted years ago
When both were young, before the scorn of Time
Had ravaged youth and beauty’s tender glow,
Robbing sweet innocence—his cruelest crime.
Now long apart, with memory left to stand
As tribute to love’s lusty, languorous days,
My heart still craves your beauty’s soft command—
Faint visions worn yet warmed by words of praise.
But when I face that chill, unyielding glass,
To brave reflected proof of my estate,
Your youthful visage, by recall unmasked,
Returns to me—a soft, sweet, welcome wraith.
I look at you; your image melds with me—
There both made young, and ever so to be.

© Loubert S Suddaby. All Rights Reserved.

I fought the battle proud, braved every blow,
Took arrows deep inside my seething breast;
I felt the sabre cleave through flesh and bone
And studded mace oft grazed my close-cropped crest;
A dragoon’s lance once pierced my naked flank;
A musket ball struck down the horse I rode,
There falling into mud and blood I sank,
Rose up, grasped blade, and into combat strode.
Each conflict lost or won I faced with pride,
Each breath expressed in anger, not in pain;
The tears I shed were for the brave who died—
That we live free, beyond a tyrant’s reign.
Know that this life, this blood, this breath we give,
Is held in trust—that freedom may yet live.

© Loubert S Suddaby. All Rights Reserved.

To fault past lovers is a waste of blame,
For hearts in concert craft their own demise;
Though one may try the other yet by shame
And each to each, lost virtue there decries.
Both souls complicit in the journey’s end,
Malignant action or neglect benign—
While to another’s need each love may tend,
To spark a jealous heart—avenge by crime.
But love so wounded ever bears the scar,
Deceit a trespass no amends erase,
Surrender may then staunch the blood of war
Though not the shameful stain of love’s disgrace.
‘Tis better then to smile and say goodbye
Than have two hearts with rancor ever vie.

© Loubert S Suddaby. All Rights Reserved.

The timeless blossoms of a waking spring
Lead my mind to the memory of your smile,
To days long past, whose visions softly bring
Sweet respites where I linger for a while…
To shaded gardens where we hid from rain,
To sunny walks along a river grand;
Astride white horses, galloping the plain,
Or golden beaches—footprints burned in sand.
But spring fades into summer and beyond
And love, like time, must have its seasons too,
I woke one morn to find that you were gone,
Yet why you left, I swear I never knew.
Still when in vernal light, a bloom I see
My heart still smiles, and you return to me.

© Loubert S Suddaby. All Rights Reserved.

Peerless she stood, unmatched in grace and reach,
Embossed in hearts—a sylph untouched by time;
A beauty none with mortal tongue impeach,
Her virtues sung as murmured hymns sublime.
Arresting all who saw her grace a room,
Each eye her loyal subject, fixed in prayer;
All lips fell dumb—the air still as a tomb,
All thought surrendered to her radiance there.
What sovereign can so rule by gaze alone,
Her smile observed as though divine decree,
All pride and purpose seeming overthrown—
All hearts detained in silent fealty.
Gods’ mighty earth— subservient to a flower;
So stands the wondrous reach of beauty’s power.

© Loubert S Suddaby. All Rights Reserved.

What now of love, adorned with golden rings,
Sweet vows o’er seen and blessed by reverent tongues,
As gathered souls affirm the truth love brings,
In reverent hymns or songs from joyous lungs.
Celestial light—the matrimonial sun—
Soars over mountains and engulfs the land
Uniting glorious dreams of two as one,
Crowned purpose sure, forever so to stand.
But bands of gold can dull, debased by time;
And lofty pledges fall upon stone ears,
Sung hymns may lose all timbre, pace and rhyme
And effervescent smiles dissolve to tears.
The course of love lies oft beyond our will—
To hold that sacred cup, and never spill.

© Loubert S Suddaby. All Rights Reserved.