I was alone, and it was beautiful.

Sometimes I astound myself

with how much love I can hold 

inside this body.

My lovers

each one so different from the next

and the beloveds of my beloveds.

the beauty that surrounds me

and strongest of all

after the first shock

the new life inside me

protected with everything I had

loved beyond any previous imaginings.

There was a time

not so long ago

when I felt that romantic love,

for me,

was over.

That time of my life was past.

I seethed and suffered,

internally railing

against the unfairness of it all,

the fairy tales and love songs

that lied and lied,

that perfect partnership

forever out of reach,

a life of loneliness ahead.

But somehow

one day,

I finally felt whole

within myself.

No need of anyone else

to fill an emptiness inside.

No emptiness was there.

Nothing missing.

I was alone

and it was beautiful.

And from this place

of no expectation,
love blossomed.

2016-04-12