In the Softest Sunshine of Winter

"I'd think

the time for recrimination is long

past it's witching hour.

Your hand is still a stiff board

when I reach out to it,

and your body is still your own

when I embrace it.

You've been an icicle

all through summer,

but the time for bonfires is in -

you have to let your long limbs

find their way around me again."

 

The ebb and flow of love, the turning away and the turning towards its glow, the little angers, the tiny bursts of disappointments - love's hurts which linger as love-bites, it's fast-changing seasons which invariably segue into its winter glow - love should always land in soft places, however hard the terrain it transverses.

 

Because you can't give up on love. You have to be sensitive to its changing moods. And you have to fall in love again and again and again with the same person. Because you are also a changeable being, and possibly becoming unlovable.

 

But when you open yourselves up to the adventures of each other, of traversing through each other's changing landscapes, you realize that love doesn't want constancy, it seeks renewal, resurrection, reinvention. In one person lies the love of a multitude. You only need to recognize that. And work towards the greatest travel adventure of your life.

 

If you liked this poem, consider listening to these other poems which talk of the variegated colors of love -

• The Final Goodbye (or Why Lovers Decide to Die Together)
• These Darned Long Distance Relationships
• Why Don't You Make Love to Me Anymore?

Find other magical things, like a lovely free chapbook of poems, and other resources here.

 

Uncut Poetry has started a new Podcast called Red River Sessions (on Spotify, iTunes, Pocket Casts, etc), where we will talk to published poets, about their poetry, their craft and what haunts them. It is brought to you by Red River, which is the premier independent publisher of poetry books, and Uncut Poetry. 

 

I am Sunil Bhandari.

 

I am a poet based out of India. My book of poetry 'Of Love and Other Abandonments' was an Amazon bestseller. My second book is 'Of Journeys & Other Ways to Get Lost'. Both are available on Amazon.

Follow me on Instagram at @sunilgivesup.

Get in touch with me on uncutpoetrynow@gmail.com

 

The details of the music used in this episode are as follows -

Reaching The Sky  [Long Version] by Alexander Nakarada
Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/6222-reaching-the-sky--long-version
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license