.

Since You’ve Been at My Side

—a villanelle

Embraced by love, since you’ve been at my side
I’ve found the strength to hope for better days,
As if uplifted by a rising tide.

When feeling lost, with you my faithful guide,
I’ve found my way through detours and delays
Embraced by love, since you’ve been at my side.

And even when life’s not been cut and dried,
You’ve helped me rise above life’s endless haze
As if uplifted by a rising tide.

Through ups and downs, it cannot be denied
That I have been (with you beyond all praise)
Embraced by love, since you’ve been at my side.

You are my friend, my lover, and my bride,
Together we’ve passed through life’s tangled maze
As if uplifted by a rising tide.

Our life has been one wild and crazy ride,
Through which I’ve been, in oh, so many ways,
Embraced by love, since you’ve been at my side,
As if uplifted by a rising tide.

.

.

If I Ever Fell in Love

Lyrics for an Imaginary 1930’s Broadway Musical

.
A fella’s got to have a girl, at least that’s what they say.
But love is hardly ever found, by chasing it that way.

It’s not that I have never tried to chase a girl or two.
But love that’s best, it seems to me, is when it comes to you.

__For chasing love’s like chasing butterflies,
__Or chasing clouds or rainbows in the skies.
__For just when love seems close enough to hold,
__It flits away, too free to be controlled.

I’m not the kind to fall in love the way that others do.
It’s not like shopping for a hat or trying on a shoe.

If thoughts of love should come at all they’d come as a surprise
If ever I would fall in love I’d have to improvise.

I never thought that love would come my way,
I never hoped to find it, till today.

But though it is impossible, I also know it’s true;
That if I ever fell in love, I’d fall in love with you.

.

.

James A. Tweedie is a retired pastor living in Long Beach, Washington. He has written and published six novels, one collection of short stories, and four collections of poetry including Sidekicks, Mostly Sonnets, and Laughing Matters, all with Dunecrest Press. His poems have been published nationally and internationally in both print and online media. He was honored with being chosen as the winner of the 2021 SCP International Poetry Competition.

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11 Responses

  1. Roy Eugene Peterson

    The first poem is an endearing ode to one whom you undoubtedly love and who has uplifted you when most needed. Precious words and heartfelt sentiments. The second one contemplates the dilemma of so many–to chase or to wait. Love poems never go out of style.

    Reply
  2. Cynthia L Erlandson

    Your villanelle is so sweet, and well-wrought (and, I imagine, very well-received!)
    Your Broadway lyrics immediately put into my mind an energetic-sounding rhythmic piano accompaniment (that I may or may not have heard before) that I imagine going to a musical performance of these verses; I guess what I’m trying to say is that they sound quite authentic!

    Reply
  4. Margaret Coats

    When “embraced” and “uplifted” come together at the end of the villanelle, it feels like a special squeeze!

    The 1930s lyrics are very satisfying as exactly what might be heard in a little theater, the best place at present to experience that kind of song and acting.

    Reply
    • James A. Tweedie

      Thank you, Margaret, your comments are always insightful and affirming.

      I wrote the villanelle for a regional contest with entries required to include something alluding to the theme, “rising tide.” After writing the poem I forgot about it, never sent it in, and didn’t rediscover it until 6 months later, long after the contest was over!

      I actually composed music in a 1930s style to go with the lyrics, done as a gift to a friend who had just returned from a 1-week resident performance seminar on the writers and composers of the “Tin Pan Alley” era.

      Reply
  5. Dan Davis

    I especially love the conclusion of the second poem. It seems the speaker is even hesitant to admit the conclusion to himself and creates a nice precipice. Excellent work!

    Reply
    • James A. Tweedie

      Thank you, Dan, for your encouraging comment. I like you use of the word precipice! It captures my intent perfectly. I’m glad you both caught it and enjoyed it.

      Reply
  6. Paul A. Freeman

    A contrast, indeed.

    Since You’ve Been at My Side, written as a villanelle, the repetitive lines perhaps alluding to the routine of married life, in this case happily married life.

    As for If I Ever Fell in Love, if only Gene Kelly were still alive and in his prime!

    I just loved the lines: ‘I’m not the kind to fall in love the way that others do. /
    It’s not like shopping for a hat or trying on a shoe.’

    I’m surprised you didn’t sing it for us, James!

    Thanks for the reads.

    Reply
  9. C.B. Anderson

    A great choice of repetends in the former, with a follow-through in the secondary rhyme that is stellar. It’s a villanelle of which even J.C. Mackenzie would approve.

    Reply

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