Young couple embracing on a white background of a sunset

A Love Affair, From A to Z: “H” – Her Heart

The following is the next segment of "A Love Affair, From A to Z."
To start at the beginning of the poem, click here.
A LOVE AFFAIR, FROM A TO Z
by
Jade A. Waters

Her heart is alive
Full like it's never been before
And though she's known love many times
It's never been like this—
Rich and decadent, with a touch of bittersweet,
Warming her up until she's bursting with joy
Floating to see him, at the memories they're painting between them,
Lovelier than any images she's ever been part of before.
She catches herself singing in the laundry room and laughs—
She's been tattered and broken, rooted up from the earth and ruined,
Her heart ground up into little bits in the past—
And yet with him she is free to soar, free to love, protected, safe
And so fucking happy she glides through the days,
Celebrating this love, his love, and
How glorious it feels that they've come together
After all this yearning and wondering.
She can't picture a future without him in it,
And when she tells him this, he scoops her up, kisses her lips, and says
“Good, because I need you in my life, too.”

To read "I" — I Miss You, click here.
Couple holding hands in a car, lighting dim

A Love Affair, From A to Z: “E” – Eternity

The following is the next segment of "A Love Affair, From A to Z."
To start at the beginning of the poem, click here.
A LOVE AFFAIR, FROM A TO Z
by
Jade A. Waters

Eternity
Is what they will have together;
She believes this in her heart
Feels it every time he takes her hand
"I like this, this time with you."
She answers him with a huge grin that only he can bring forth from her
"That's good. Because I love this time with you."
They can spend the longest hours driving round and around,
Staring at buildings, sights, pointing at stars
Talking about nothing
In a way that somehow still means everything.
The pad of his thumb slips back and forth on the edge of hers
And he catches her in that stare of his,
The sparkle in his eye winning her over as easily as his smile
When he winks and asks,
"What are you thinking?"
"That I am so happy here with you. It's unreal," she says back.
He squeezes her hand, steering them to wherever they will go,
Anywhere and everywhere she will go with him,
Before he says,
"Me too."

To read "F" — Fucking, click here.
Photo of man and woman in bed, she is laughing and they both look smitten

A Love Affair, From A to Z: “D” – Days

The following is the next segment of "A Love Affair, From A to Z."
To start at the beginning of the poem, click here.
A LOVE AFFAIR, FROM A TO Z
by
Jade A. Waters

Days pass by
And there is nothing but joy, pure joy
The two of them twining together
Like destiny has led them here, a silent spark
Anticipating the moment they'll catch on, too.
His fingers stroke through her hair,
His lips taste her skin
"I love you, I love this, how is it so perfect?" he asks.
She knows, because she always has—
So she curls him closer
As she takes him in, licks at his ear to make him laugh,
Says, "Because we were meant to be,"
And he stares at her when he plunges inside
Nodding with her
Knowing her, agreeing again and again.
They begin to move like
Their bodies have been ready
For the shifts between them, the unstoppable glow
Filling their cheeks
Forever.

To read "E" — Eternity, click here.
Couple in passionate embrace and undressing each other. High Contrast Black and White - Defocussed

A Love Affair, From A to Z: “C” – Cascading

The following is the next segment of "A Love Affair, From A to Z."
To start at the beginning of the poem, click here.
A LOVE AFFAIR, FROM A TO Z
by
Jade A. Waters

Cascading
She calls it—
Like the waterfall of love they've tried to hold back
With the world's strongest dam is now
Tumbling, rippling, rolling,
A surge of lust and waves
Capturing them, sweeping them away
Beneath the fiercest moonlight she's ever seen.
It’s brighter than every moonlight that's ever shined above them
Waiting for this moment
Like they have all these years.
It’s so different from what they'd expected—
"Our first time wasn't supposed to be like this," he says,
And she smiles at the love, at the dreams he's had as crystal clear as she has
When they slip closer together,
Leather scraping her knees in the back seat of his car
While they kiss so deep
Bodies pressed
Finding each other, again
Finally
Tonight.

To read "D" — Days, click here.
Close-up portrait of kissing couple in shadow

A Love Affair, From A to Z: “B” – Beautiful

The following is the next segment of "A Love Affair, From A to Z."
To start at the beginning of the poem, click here.
A LOVE AFFAIR, FROM A TO Z
by
Jade A. Waters

Beautiful is how she sees it
How she's known this, him
The silent love they've shared
Is the perfect bar crawl
On the longest evening
Repeated, over and over again.
The laugh that echoes between them
Is the song for all they have yet to say,
So when they begin to crash together
To melt, colliding
Into this love like they'd always known they would,
His lips on hers are honey
His breath in her ear like a rainstorm
Prickling her skin, teasing her lashes
Wrapping her up in the sanctity of what they will be.
His palms slip along the flesh of her back
Her neck, her hips, her thighs
And she is naked now, finally, for him.

To read "C" — Cascading, click here.

A Love Affair, From A to Z: “A” – Always

The following is a serial narrative poem written in daily segments throughout the month of April, 2017. It was originally part of the A to Z Blogging Challenge.
I hope you enjoy "A Love Affair, From A to Z"...
A LOVE AFFAIR, FROM A TO Z
by
Jade A. Waters

Always,”
He tells her,
“Always I will be here, love you, hold you close”
The words are a melody in her ear
The antidote to all she's known,
The graze of his fingers over her lips
The sweetest touch
She's been waiting for.
“Always,” she whispers back,
Her heart perched on the edge,
Waiting for him to grasp it
To clutch it close,
To honor it as deeply
As the two of them fall
Into the spell that's lingered between them
All these hours over drinks,
All these nights they've been pretending
All these years they've been waiting,
Waiting for this.

To read "B" — Beautiful, click here.
B/W image of man's hand sliding along woman's almost exposed chest; Katarzyna Białasiewicz ©123RF.com

In This Bar

IN THIS BAR
by
Jade A. Waters

I sit in this bar wondering
Waiting
Hoping
Will it be you
Will it be us
Is the answer as simple as you and me
Me and you
And the lifetime of lust between us
I keep asking
You keep answering
It's a miracle we've gotten anywhere
Nowhere
Why do I love you like this
Knowing you are you
And I am me
And we could never ever be
But I guess that's life, really
You do you
I do me
Something that was meant to be
Never ever was
I don't know the answer
And so I drink one more drink
And tipsy I watch you
Handsome
Knowing me
And that's about it.

*

Almost b/w image of topless woman with arm over chest and bright lights

Fucking Love Poems

FUCKING LOVE POEMS
by
Jade A. Waters

I was thinking of how much I love you,
How I always want you near,
How something inside me tingles,
Every time that you are here.
It shouldn't be this way, I know.
This electricity, this spark,
The way I feel a little flutter
As if you control my heart.
It's troublesome how well you know me,
How you can smile when you say my name,
But we will pass it off in this frustration
Of our never-ending game.
I'm not supposed to be writing love poems—
I'm a serious poet, you know,
But I'd be lying if I pretended
You aren't a part of the words that flow.
So again, I will shelve my feelings
And exclaim, "I'm locking away my heart"—
But the truth is that I love you so,
I can't imagine being apart.

*

Couple embracing in silhouette

Safe

SAFE
by
Jade A. Waters

She found herself paralyzed
Sick with grief
And yet not sick at all,
All of it
None of it
Too much
Too little,
And so when he came to her
She was restless,
Her body tense, her mind aching,
Startled by those warm hands,
His warm hands
Sliding round her waist.

"I'm here," he said,
"Right here. Yours."
She held her breath
But deep inside, she knew—
He would free her lungs
When he pulled her closer,
Pressed his lips to hers
Tongue seeking, roaming, finding,
Reminding her of what was,
What could be,
What they were.
"I love you, you know," he said,
And when she said, "I do,"
The words were a whisper into
The wetness of his mouth,
A gasp against the clutch of his body.

The heat fired in her,
Finally,
Again,
As he peeled back the sides of her shirt
Kissed the edge of her jaw,
Trailed damp lips along her neck
And breathed her in,
Before he met her eyes.
"So much," he said. "And I want you now.
Come back to me."
His hands pulled away her shirt
Drifted over her breasts
Circling nipples that waxed, waned
Stood for him,
Before he drew his fingers to her waist
And carefully unfastened her jeans.

At this she sighed—
It was him, her love.
There was
No paralysis,
No grief;
He was the one who knew
How to rescue her time and again.
And when he dropped to his knees
Burying his mouth against the heat
That rose between her thighs—
She tilted back her head,
And moaned it all away

For good.

*

Picture of the infinite star field in reds and golds

Love Like the Stars

LOVE LIKE THE STARS
by
Jade A. Waters

Like a star you plummet—
Deep, dark
             Heavy
The universe that stood between us
Filled, warm
The glisten of stars
Spins round
             So fast
To feel the ache that fills you
Fills me
Pushes us;
Sweat like oceans
Sways with the tide,
Down your cheeks as you tire,
But the moon trembles
And cries for more
An eclipse
Of surrender
And like comets there is
A drizzle,
A dripping
Of the heavens
Between us.

*