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Christmas 2010

“Love isn’t something you find. 
Love is something that finds you.” —Loretta Young

I hadn’t given up on love.
I simply thought it couldn’t be.
I wouldn’t buy the concept of
A oneness for eternity

But musings passing back and forth
For moons across five thousand miles,
From southern burn and frosted north
Held fire and ice and smiles and trials.

A miracle of time and place
Put wildest joy within my reach.
Wrapped within its blaze and grace
Doubt melted on a winter beach.

Thirteen Christmases ago
I met the one I’ve always known.
In Devon, wave-crest white with snow,
I saw her soul in eyes that shone.

It’s true that stars and hearts align,
Though love so ever rarely will.
That’s why I’m thrilled that she is mine
And I am hers till time stands still.

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Mike Bryant is a poet and retired plumber living on the Gulf Coast of Texas.

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34 Responses

  1. Cynthia Erlandson

    This is so beautiful, Mike! “Wrapped within its blaze and grace / Doubt melted on a winter beach.” is such a perfect expression of the imagery of the time, the place, and the magical effect you’ve written about. “And I am hers till time stands still.” is heart-melting! I’d love to know whether this was recently written.

    Reply
    • Mike Bryant

      Thank you, Cynthia, yes this was very recent. Because it’s Christmas, and I was thinking of Christmases past, I felt I had to relive my most important and wonderful Christmas… except for the last twelve!

      Reply
  2. Sally Cook

    I know exactly what you are talking about, Mike. So happy my friend Susan found hers.

    Reply
  3. Roy Eugene Peterson

    What a beautiful and touching poem that has that personal meaning and dimension. I always love a poem that is romantic and compelling, such as yours, that has that miracle of love ending! Thank you for sharing these feelings and precious moments with us.

    Reply
    • Mike Bryant

      Thanks, Roy, I think when you have experienced such love, it helps to appreciate, in a very limited way, the really unimaginable love that God has for us.

      Reply
  4. Margaret Coats

    Mike, this is nicely done. It starts with contradictory and doubtful statements, but in the second lovely stanza foregoes gruff colloquiality for classic poetic words. The resolution comes with a warm expression still somewhat contradictory, “Doubt melted on a winter beach.” In fact, you bring back the doubtful tone even after the resolution in “love so ever rarely will”–but go on to proclaim your own apparent miracle in the final two lines. The epigraph from Loretta Young is a good explanatory anchor point for a satisfying love poem.

    Reply
    • Mike Bryant

      Thank you Margaret, I really do believe that love is a precious commodity for fallen humanity… scarcer than diamonds and gold and far more valuable.

      Reply
  6. Brian A. Yapko

    Mike, this poem makes me so happy! The poem is so beautiful. I refer, of course, to the language and imagery, but — most especially — because it is so obviously sincere. You wear your heart on your sleeve and it truly becomes you. Having met both you and Susan, it makes me nod with confidence that, yes, this is who the two of you are. This Christmas gift for us is extra special knowing that you are indeed each other’s best possible Christmas gift!

    Reply
    • Mike Bryant

      Thanks, Brian, I have always been too forthcoming for my own good! Love me or hate me, no one ever has to wonder how I feel.
      I really enjoyed meeting you and Josh… perhaps Evan should arrange poetry confab soon… maybe in Nashville?

      Reply
    • Mike Bryant

      Thanks James, Happy Boxing Day! I have set up a ring in the back garden. Soon Susan will be opening her special hidden gift… a pair of Boxing Gloves. I’m always embracing English traditions.

      Reply
  8. Norma Pain

    This is a beautiful love poem and gift to Susan. The last line brought happy tears to my eyes. Thank you for sharing this Mike.

    Reply
    • Mike Bryant

      Thank you, Norma, now dry those tears and share all the laughter with us today 🙂

      Reply
  9. Paul A. Freeman

    There’s nothing like the personal touch to raise a poem up a notch or two.

    Reply
    • Mike Bryant

      Thanks, Paul, and Happy Boxing Day. I hope you are enjoying it in Merry Olde England.

      Reply
  10. Jeff Eardley

    Wow Mike, love poems don’t get any better than this. A wonderful celebration of love between two great wordsmiths. This is great. Thank you for sharing with us all.

    Reply
    • Mike Bryant

      Thanks, Jeff, and thanks for all your beautiful contributions in poetry and music. I don’t say it often enough.

      Reply
  11. Joseph S. Salemi

    To Mike and Susan —

    May God bless and keep you both, for many more Christmases.

    Reply
    • Mike Bryant

      Thanks so much, Joseph… Susan and I wish all the best for you and yours this coming year. We appreciate all you do here at SCP to keep it exciting, entertaining, inspirational and, most of all, educative.

      Reply
  12. Yael

    You are a blessed man, to be able to live and love as you do. Thank you for sharing this lovely poem, may your love last forever. Hope ya’ll have a happy new Year.

    Reply
    • Mike Bryant

      Thank you Yael, I am a very lucky man. Susan and I wish you and your family a blessed new year.

      Reply
  14. Carey Jobe

    Mike, you warmed a lot of hearts with this poem! Everyone who has experienced the miracle of unexpectedly finding their true life partner can relate to the line “I met the one I’ve always known.” A perfect poem for the Christmas season!

    Reply
    • Mike Bryant

      Thanks, Carey… talk about a bolt out of the blue! I thank God for sending Susan to me.

      Reply
  15. Monika Cooper

    Amazing love story! An old friend of mine used to say that Christmas, not Valentine’s, was the most romantic holiday of the year.

    Reply
    • Mike Bryant

      Thank you, Monika. I’ve never really thought about it before, but I do agree now that Christmas is definitely more romantic than Valentine’s Day.

      Reply
  16. Jeff Kemper

    Thanks, Mike for the beautiful sentiment in beautifully crafted poem. “I met the one I’ve always known” reminds me of a poem I wrote long ago about the wife I would one day meet.

    Reply
    • Mike Bryant

      Thanks, Jeff. I wonder how that happens. I am grateful for the wonder and the happening.

      Reply
  17. Joshua C. Frank

    What I love about this particular love story is that it’s a true story (as opposed to those formulaic Hallmark romance movies my mother watches every year), and that the love clearly has lasted to this day (whereas in stories “happily ever after” depends on where you end the story).

    Reply
    • Mike Bryant

      Thanks Josh, I’m partial to the old attitude that everything always works out in the end… and if everything ain’t working out, it just means that it ain’t the end yet.

      Reply

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