Love

A Knight in Shining Armor

There once lived a knight in Shining Armor,

Who loved to help the damsels in distress.

Inviting every challenge to assure him,

His overwhelming strength would pass each test.

 

He knew the maidens loved his Shiny presence,

Impatiently, he hastened to their call,

How strong he felt within his suit of Armor.

Protected from within his steely wall.

 

Then one day, there came a nice young maiden,

Who asked if she might talk with him awhile.

He hungered for a lady’s admiration,

So her attempt to know him, made him smile.

 

They talked of many things and they grew closer.

The maiden came to love him very much.

She one day asked if he’d remove his armor,

So she might know the pleasure of this touch.

 

The Knight in Shining Armor was astounded!

“Young maiden, do you realize what you ask?

You wish for me to stand before you naked,

Not knowing what I hide behind my mask?”

 

Though she was very frightened by his anger,

She felt she must tenaciously persist.

For it was worth the feelings she’d uncover,

So carefully concealed beneath his vest.

 

You cannot hide your wounds within your armor.

They will not heal unless exposed to trust.

That you would have me love a suit of armor,

You surely must agree would be unjust!

 

“My maiden, you have dared to look within me,

But first these words of caution I relay;

How can I be your Knight in Shining Armor,

If I let my Armor melt away?”

 

“My silly Knight, your Armor isn’t shining,

Without you, it would lie there cold and gray.

Do you not need to know that I would love you,

Without the strength your Armor doth portray?”

 

“You need not fear that I would ever harm you,

I only seek that you may be set free,

To understand the Knight within the Armor,

To understand how much he means to me.”

 

“Just one last question I’m compelled to ask you,

Before you choose to leave your Armor on;

Are not the very feelings that you hide from,

The feelings you’ve been seeking, all along?”

 

~ Sandi Burton

Justifiable Love

I stood alone – among the empty faces,

And listened to the silence in my heart.

I stood alone in all the crowded places,

And waited for the loneliness to start.

 

Then suddenly, a stranger stood besides me,

With eyes that seemed to know just how I felt.

And there, among a sea of empty faces,

I felt the wall around me start to melt.

 

I tried to tell my foolish heart – be careful!

Such overwhelming feeling can’t be real,

But how could I deny my own emotions?

How could I pretend I didn’t feel?

 

I knew that I’d been given something precious,

I knew my heart would never be the same.

And so I chose to justify my losses,

So small, compared to all I had to gain.

 

A fleeting glance of what a lover should be,

A tenderness so beautiful, so rare,

An instant understanding of each other,

The secrets that our hearts will always share.

 

He filled my days with smiling, happy moments,

He filled my nights with passion never known.

No longer was my heart condemned to silence,

No longer was I standing there – alone.

 

I bless him for his gift of understanding,

I cherish every moment that we’ve shared.

But most of all I’m thankful for the knowledge –

That somebody, so special – really cared.

 

And as the day grows near that he will leave me,

The cost of love will soon become my pain,

And yet I’ll pay the price – with little sorrow,

For never – will I feel alone again

 

~ Sandi Burton

3/19/1974

One And Only Love

A thought I once saw sadly, thru the mirrors of my mind,

I have now accepted gladly – for the truth in it I find.

 

One cannot be loved alone in lives we live today,

One cannot forever own – an others time to pray.

 

Though our love may be for one, our minds are soon demanding –

That our other thoughts are lonely, and they too need understanding.

 

Awards are given, not for life, but for each grand performance,

So there is no one and only love – just one and only moments.

 

So many things that we must do, in living life today,

But one and only moments, in our hearts, will always stay.

 

Moments to remember, when you spend your days apart,

Whenever you find need for them, are waiting in your heart.

 

You need not own ones every thought, to be his one and only,

If I love your precious moments brought, how can your heart be lonely?

 

So we leave our ‘One and Only” love, a little more each day –

But if your love’s for only one, it cannot lose its way.

 

Your ‘One and Only” will return, and precious time you’ll spend,

Making ‘One and Only’ moments, no one else can ever end.

 

~ Sandi Burton

Where Did He Go?

 

“Where did he go?”, she cried in her sleep

“How could I know”, her torn heart would weep,

And yet in the shadows of her bleeding mind,

That haunting reminder – she can’t help but find.

 

The cement stains her hands from each brick that she’d laid,

As she stares at the wall – all alone in the shade.

Then the shade turns to darkness, the darkness of sleep,

For oblivious moments – she’d not have to weep.

 

The blanket of nothingness covers her mind,

Til her tortured subconscious begins to unwind,

It creeps thru her being, not a feeling is spared

Distorting so sadly the love they once shared.

 

With a magnified image of him standing there –

Silently pleading, “Just show me you care!”

If only he’d known – to look thru her mask,

He’d know, though she tried, it was too much to ask.

 

If only he’d seen the stark fear in her eyes,

Or the desperate need she’d tried hard to disguise.

His image then blurs as he turns away,

He can’t seem to hear – as she begs him to stay.

 

Her lack of emotion was too much to bear,

When all he had asked is, “Just show me you care”.

Then her pain wracked emotions again start to weep,

“Where did he go?”, she cried in her sleep…..

 

~ Sandi Burton

DESTRUCTION OF A COWARD

DESTRUCTION OF A COWARD

 

Faded reflections of cloudy themes,

Shadows of love, overpowered.

Filtering softly through broken dreams,

For in my heart, dwells a coward.

Reliving a dream in my sleepless hours,

Refusing to dream of reliving,

Reaching no further than mystical lowers,

For fear of what I may be giving.

Startled awakening! The rustling of life,

(As I reach for the myths of my mind),

Raping my dreams with the blade of its knife,

Not dreading the fear it may find.

How I long for the love that invades my comfort,

Let it grow far beyond my fears’ powers,

And leave but a heart that reflects a dream,

That no longer shelters a coward.

Tribute to a Lady

I search for the words, in this poem I write,

Much more, I suppose, than the rest,

I find myself groping thru many a night,

For the words that relate my thoughts best.

 

For I’m writing of someone I love very much,

So much, that it may not sound real.

How often she’s given the warmth of her touch,

But how rarely I’ve said how I feel.

 

I know as I search, that I can’t really find,

The words that are worthy of her,

For someone like her just cannot be defined –

In the words that my mind might prefer.

 

At least I must try, and I hope that she’ll see,

All my feelings for her can’t be named,

I suppose that’s the way truly loving should be,

Just as paintings too good to be framed.

 

No matter what happens, or what I go through,

I know that she’ll be standing there,

And I hope that someday – I can find what to do,

To relate to her how much I care.

 

She still dries my tears, when things have gone bad,

And helps me to stand when I fall,

And somehow she senses when I’m feeling low,

And stops what she’s doing to call.

 

As a woman her beauty will go unsurpassed,

And she’s gifted with great understanding,

An award winning star in the role she’s been cast,

Though her role’s always been so demanding.

 

She’s everything I’ve ever wanted to be,

Always so gentle – yet strong.

She’s been such a beautiful mother to me,

No matter what ways I went wrong.

 

She’s full of forgiveness, her love doesn’t wilt,

She reminds me of each lovely dawn,

How often she’s tried to erase all my guilt –

And give me the strength to go on.

 

“This too, will pass”, she’d say with a smile –

And hide every trace of her fear.

If I were afraid, she’d be there all the while,

Reminding me, Mother is near.

 

There’s three of us, who feel as I do,

And I’m sure they won’t mind if I say,

Thru all of the dark spots, we’ve ever been through,

She’s been there to lighten the way.

 

I feel almost sorry, for those who won’t meet,

This woman I try to define.

Yet selfishly glad that the world can’t compete,

For the love of her children, is mine.

 

Though she loves the whole world, in one way or the other,

She’s always been sure to make clear –

More than anything else, she is always our mother,

And she holds her three children quite dear.

 

She’s been such a friend, so much fun to be near,

Her laughter has filled many days,

So much that she is, I could never make clear,

For I love her in too many ways.

 

~ Sandi Burton

September, 1972