Sonnet 102 – I Can Let You Go

I can let you go now. If you ever
needed me, the need has passed. We are two
creatures who walked for a time together.
Passion needs tending. You’d forgotten who

you were but never lost the habit of
need. I took you unaware. I’m a man
who could move you, could remind you that love
can be more than routine. There is no plan

that guides us to our destiny. It is
chance that shows us a moment and choice that
binds us to another. All our wishes
fall before will, are realized by it.

I wish you to be where you find joy, where
you feel home. I only wish it were here.

Sonnet 101 – Not Malice, But Mischief

You are maddening and not always in
the best of ways. You have a quick wit and
a wicked streak. Sometimes the impish grin
that comes with your delight will leave a man

left standing less than steady. It’s a bit
disorienting to feel the barb then
see that lovely face, to realize it
is not malice but mischief. Then again,

I’ve come to love that part of you. I’m far
less fleet than you, so my best defense is
to roll with it, to know the heart, the care
for me that lies behind the taunt. One kiss

is all it takes to heal me, Love. So tease
me, then please me with your kinder mercies.

Sonnet 100 – Out of Town

We’ll be out of town this weekend, away
from home and in-laws and children.  So much
of who we are is bound in them, that we
need to seek ourselves again.  The first touch

will be a revelation, another
finding for two so often lost and found.
Hotel beds are for lovers - the mother
of my children will not lie there.  The sound

I seek would never come from mommy’s voice.
When I look into my lover’s eyes, I
will see you - my one, true love; first choice
for any lifetime.  When, at last, we cry

out for joy, when exhaustion begins to
take its toll, I will hold you, treasure you.

Sonnet 99 – Combrogi

We were combrogi – companions, brothers,
equals – and we held the light against the
night’s fall.  We didn’t seek battle – others
chose conflict for us and we were simply

there, equipped to lead the cause. So we fought.
We fought for a generation consigned
to fear, to strife, to lack of hope.  We brought
knowledge bought with struggle – our scars remind

us all that no paper pedigree earns
a man respect.  It is the challenge, each
day met with love and dignity, which burns
us, brands us, calls us out and bids us reach

in faith to see the forsaken made more.
We were combrogi – companions endure.

For my brothers and sisters in arms…jwb

Sonnet 98 – I Miss You

I miss you terribly. Today was a
particularly lonely day. We see
each other so little now that each day
crawls cruelly from sunrise to sleep. The

time we do manage to share is distant –
phone calls and emails are no substitute
for seeing you and holding you. I want
to support you fully and to refute

the notion that this is all about me.
I’ll confess it’s difficult, though. I’m so
much less without you – I’m never truly
happy when we’re apart. I cannot show

this face to others but you should never
doubt you're my best friend, my love, my lover.

Sonnet 97 – Obsession

I would have thought I would think more of you
with more time on my hands.  That doesn’t seem
to be the case, though.  In fact, I spend no
more time than I did before.  Just one theme

frames my dreams – some would call that obsession,
would think my priorities wrong.  I don’t
agree.  If you consume my attention,
it’s because I choose to let you.  I won’t

feel regret for investing every
possible instant with thoughts of you.  Your
love is precious beyond measure to me.
I will live in a way that makes you sure

I only love you right now...and now…and
now.  I’ll remain yours until all nows end.

Sonnet 96 – Washing Dishes

I’d storm Hell itself to make you happy.
Any man would – we want to be heroes
for the women that move us. Too many
times we forget to best the daily woes

that make our lovers’ lives less than Heaven.
We forsake the small things. We believe that
they don’t matter, or that they shouldn’t when
there are dragons prowling our landscapes. What

could we do but chase the epic? You
deserve better of the man who needs
you. So I’ll see to smaller things: I’ll do
the mowing while you weed the flower beds.

As we chase each of our dreams and wishes
down, I will stand with you, washing dishes.

Sonnet 95 – I Will Meet You Where You Are

There are times you have had to stretch to hold
me – it’s just discomfort I feel in your
embrace, not disaffection.  You once told
me that you would gladly tie your future

to mine and you have also felt regret
for the telling.  Your love for me has caused
as much pain as joy – you’d as soon forget
it, dismiss it utterly, see it lost

to memory – but you can’t.  Nor can I.
If we’ve caused each other hurt, it’s not due
to lack of love.  Despite the ache, we try
each day to make love stronger, see it new.

You should know that you need not stretch so far
to hold me - I will meet you where you are.