I have long loved poetry. It is such a beautiful art form. I think the seed was always in me, and then was nurtured by a love for musical storytelling. Listening to music gave me my first introduction to love poems. The deep expression, the weight of emotion. It had the potential to be so moving. For me, the expression of love can feel like poetry and poetry can feel like the expression of love, so love poems seem like a most natural pairing. And in that natural way, love poems often came to me. Almost as if there were no other way it could have been said.
Forever is a mighty long time/but what would time be without you
From “Forever” in Dearest Lover
I love a man with a hearty laugh/that bellows just deep enough to hold me
From “Bellows” in Dearest Lover
What came later was a more vulnerable prose on love, that began in the form of letters. I believe I wrote my first “Dearest Lover” letter when I was in college. I simply needed to have the conversation. I needed to release this truth to allow myself to be honest about hopes and fears on love – unhindered and full.
I want to exhale the anxiety of this world as you hold me close, and breath in the peace of this love.
From “Letter One” in Dearest Lover
Love poems can often seem whimsical, and at times they should be, playful and light, like floating on a cloud. But pairing them with this deeper prose allowed me to stay grounded and gave a fullness to the conversation on love I was having within myself. Hopeful, yet wary, both light and dark, soft yet strong – balanced, full, true.
So, it became clear that I had another potential collection of words that needed to be put together. I hope people are able to feel love’s light and depth as they read through.
Taylor Ruby's 