I entered the musty
library,
Of the once great
house
With its leather
upholstered chairs
And oak panelled
walls,
Instantly feeling at
home,
So I took a seat in a
chesterfield beside the fire
And in comfort I began
to read
But my chosen reading
was not
One of the myriad of
leather bound tomes
That filled the oak
shelves from floor to ceiling
Nor a rare first
edition, of which there were many,
I had my choice of all
the classics
With their gold
embossed titles
But my selection was a
collection of letters
Neatly tied in faded
red ribbons
And as I began to read
them
They took my breath
away
For each beautifully
hand written page
Was part of a
remarkable love story
About a most extraordinary
couple
Whose depth of love
was evident
In every eloquent
syllable.
As I read on, their
love affair
Was revealed to me as
a most exceptional love story
For this lovingly
devoted couple
Who billed and cooed
in copperplate
On every scented page
and shared their hearts love
In unguarded detail,
had never met
For they had begun to
write
In the innocence of
childhood
As pen pals, for a
project set by School
It was a chore that
had to be done
But it didn’t remain
burdensome
Yet even though they
had never met
Their love was
evident, in fact it was palpable
In their intimate personnel correspondence
No that’s not what it was
Correspondence did not
in any form
Convey the true
meaning of their substance.
The tangibility was in
their Love letters
That’s the only way to
say it
The flowery words of an affaire d’amour
Echoed in the calligraphy on every page
Each revealing billet doux
More affectionate, romantic and intimate
Than its passionate
predecessor
They billed and cooed on every page
Each lovingly constructed sentence
Heavily laced with innuendo
And dripped with
sensual longing,
Subtle yet explicit at the same time
Flavoured with delicious nuances
Flirtatious and lustful
Romantic and affectionate
A love of such perfect purity,
Not for its pureness of thought
But for the absence of any hope of physicality
For their love was
star-crossed
She was an invalid,
bed ridden
Stricken with polio as
a child
While he was a subject
of an enemy state
And because their two
nations were at war
She couldn’t go to him
even if her health permitted
And he was unable to
go to her
For fear of capture and imprisonment
So they could never meet,
would never meet
And they were content
in that fact
For their love
transcended the physical
So they made love via
their sweet missives
A love that never
faded or faltered
In an affair lasting
more than forty years
Which only ended with
his death
The one and only
public acknowledgement
Of the lifelong love
affair, was in his will
When he expressed as
his dying wish
That her letters,
which were so precious
To him and cherished
during his life
Should be returned to
his love
So that they at least should lie together
She was so broken
hearted at the news
That her cherished
lover had left the world
She died a week after
receiving them
And they could be
united at last
