The state of the union

I have songs to sing
I have poems to write
I have memories of a girl so beautiful
I did not understand why
But she understood

I sang songs of love
I wrote poems superficially deep
I had dreams of a girl so beautiful
I searched
I gave up dreaming and searching
I rationalized and

Amid great joy
Emerged great pain
And as time went on

I sang songs of love
I wrote poems superficially deep then
I turned a corner and met a woman so beautiful
In time she sought me out
I did not understand why
But she understood

She said yes
The state of our union was as beautiful as the woman

We sang songs of love
We danced to love songs
I wrote poems deep and meaningful and

Amid great joy
Emerged great pain

I will sing songs of love again but
The old guitar needs the new strings
That I bought one day so long ago
When she was so tired
But she insisted on stopping
At the Guitar Gallery
I did not understand why
But she understood

A whisper
There are people who need compassion
There are people who need empathy
There are people who need someone to listen in silence

A gentle breeze
I have songs to sing
I have poems to write
I have memories of a girl so beautiful
I did not understand why
But she understood
The state of our union
Gave deeper meaning to my life
I now understand

Paul Cech has been writing poetry since 1970. Several of his poems have been published as Saturday Poems in the Pittsburgh- Post Gazette and the Thomas Merton Center of Pittsburgh has published several of his poems in NewPeople. Read other articles by Paul.