The Love of Valentines

A violet cascade of rich perfume
Pervades a little letter full of love,
Red hearts and lips upon the flowers bloom,
Exotic chocolates melt the skies above!
Oh, love, to taste another’s beating heart,
Caress a body supple, warm and smooth,
To burn with Venus, struck by Cupid’s dart,
To have another, soothing and to soothe.
No- Love long suffers, lacking want and pride,
It follows virtue, and seeks not its own,
Embracing Truth it banishes the lie,
Bears, trusting and enduring all, alone.
Gold shines as trials purge the muddy dross,
Love burns, a fire, and it bleeds, a cross.
-Tyler William O’Neil
-February 14, 2010

The Answer to Suffering

A thousand evils rage upon the Earth,
Despair bursts both the tongue and grape of joy,
And though each instant holds tremendous worth,
No satisfaction meets desire’s ploy.
Vain science seeks to urge the pleasure on,
To overtake desire’s tyranny,
Yet ev’ry satisfaction soon is gone,
And Man is left in bleak despondency.
Pure meditation strangles passion’s hold,
Restraining all desire to its death,
The pain removed, so follows close the gold,
As meaning dies in passion’s final breath.
Submission is alone the perfect course,
For glory lies within the pain’s divorce.
-Tyler William O’Neil
March 10, 2009