Love is not a Bargain

Begging another’s stay doth cost too dear a price—

A sum no purse may hold, nor heart may well sustain;

As air doth float unseen, yet lends the world its life,

Even so thou art: felt not, yet ever in the vein.

Why wish them bound to thee when they have turn’d their way?

Thou feel’st their touch alone when fortune bends to their desire;

What fruit hath hope in paths where winds have swept astray?

Where grace is giv’n but when their will doth set the fire.

Then if thy soul doth crave room to draw its breath,

Why not purchase peace with gold of self-regard?

Thy pain is not a coin to prove thy worth or depth—

To test affection’s truth is gall within the yard.

Set thou thy bounds, and know what worth doth dwell in thee;

Love is no bargain struck ‘tween gain and loss or need—

’Tis two hearts that read each other’s silence free,

That stand through tempests, fill each empty space with heed.

For now, let every door within thy life be clos’d,

And walk in grace where quiet holds its gentle reign;

Live well, and let thy spirit be unposed—

#PoeAwards#Poemia