Finding Love

Finding Love
By Mark Spencer

When we must face the world alone
It seems a lonely place.
If we've no one to share it with,
We cannot see its grace.

We're lost upon an empty sea
Adrift within the storm.
A shadow of our former selves
Without substance or form.

And yet, we strive to carry on,
To see the sun once more.
We place our hearts upon the block,
As we have done before.

But often we will move too fast,
Or try to skip ahead.
If one but glances through a book,
He can't know what he's read.

Each story cultivates a path,
From beginning to end.
It's a trail true love must follow,
The way that it was penned.

If you attempt to circumvent
The courtship at the start,
Your romance will become a fling,
Which leads to broken hearts.

For who could ever trust someone
Who gives themselves so swift,
And shares with one they hardly know
Such an intimate gift.

Happy endings are rarely found,
In tales that start this way.
Such passion sometimes feels like love,
But passion fades away.

And if no love can then be found,
You'll be alone again.
Adrift upon that empty sea,
Where you have often been.

For if your offered love is free,
And it need not be earned,
What merit do you think it has,
When it is not returned?

Love's worth is measured by the work
Required to make it grow.
But when you give that love away,
Its value is brought low.

So if you seek this treasured prize,
Here's what you'll have to do.
The love you offer someone else
Must mean something to you.

End.