Category Archives: Love That Hurts

B/W shadowed image of couple close on the bed looking out the window

A Love Affair, From A to Z: “P” – Perfect

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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

Perfect is the day he celebrates with her
Both of them silent over the abyss looming ahead
Instead tangled up,
Kissing, fucking, smiling,
Laughing, laughing, oh, how they can laugh together.
He toasts her for her win
Spoils her with affectionate kisses and cheers
And after another round that leaves them panting,
His naked skin on hers is the best prize of all,
His fingers laced with hers the one thing she truly wants.
But he offers dinner
Her favorite dinner
And she’s soaring all over again.
He says he does it because she appreciates it, which she does
Following him through the store,
Nearly skipping as he talks about
Sauces, seasonings, and specialty ingredients
And it battles the ache that’s started to weigh down her heart.
When they return, she kisses the back of his neck and says,
“I love when you cook for me.”
He abandons the groceries covering the counters for a moment,
Showering her in love while she continues,
“I want it often. All the time.”
He kisses her cheek and thumbs her chin
To make her heart pick up speed, because it blossoms
At his new, perfect promise:
“Then you shall have it.”

To read "Q" — Quivering, click here.
Romantic couple embracing, touching and kissing with passion on a ledge dressed up and in b/w

A Love Affair, From A to Z: “O” – Out They Go

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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

Out they go, a night to escape
Playing on the town
Like their lives, they
Depend on every second of this evening.
They laugh over dinner,
Drive with the stereo loud,
The moon roof open as they
Point at the stars
Like old times
Before he grabs her hand and takes her dancing,
Both of them close, giggling
Grinding
And intoxicated,
Running from the problem,
The catch in what they share,
Spinning around and around on the dance floor
With hands creeping along each other’s sides.
“I love you so much,” she says.
“And I love you, too.”
He means it, this she knows
And she will dance here with him
Pressed tight
Tighter
As close as they can be
For as long as it takes to forget
For now.

To read "P" — Perfect, click here.
B/w image of passionate couple making love in bed

A Love Affair, From A to Z: “N” – Need

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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

Need is filling her up—
The need to be with him, to go there,
To grasp this
In the way they both whisper about
But can’t quite reach;
Not as it is.
It stirs up a longing in her so heavy
She is anxious about the end, the complications
Whether it’s going to work.
He sees this and strokes her neck, cuddles her closer
Gently blows in her ear.
“Why are you such a pessimist?”
She's never been that, never in her life
And when she meets his eyes, he nods.
“You are. With us, you are.”
She doesn’t want to be,
She wants it to be everything
This love between them,
But she can't quite figure out how to fit the pieces of
This puzzle
Together.
When he distracts her with kisses trailed up the side of her neck
He says, “Do this with me. Be here with me.”
So she decides to listen, to feel him,
To get further lost in this forest
Despite its looming density.

To read "O" — Out They Go, click here.
Image in B/W of couple in embrace, man behind woman, grazing her back with their eyes closed

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

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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

Mapping her heart
Is his skill, because he knows her through
Or so he claims.
Sometimes, he says he gets the depth of her love,
But she is reminded he can’t possibly know
How deep this well runs within her;
It’s been brewing, brimming,
Swirling up from its confinement
Far longer in her than he’s admitted the same to himself.
But she sees it in the simple things he does for her—
The way he cooks her dinner, brings her little gifts, helps her around her house
Or calls her for the tenth time on the same day,
Just to say hello.
It’s as if he doesn’t realize how much it means to her, to them
As if he doesn’t see how closely they’ve entwined themselves together
Despite the obviousness of it pumping their hearts full of rich, sweet joy.
One night, as he cooks, she says to him
“What do you think it would be like if we were normal?”
He stirs again; peeks at her
“What do you mean?”
“I mean if it were always. Every night. Not a day off, or a getaway.”
He ponders a moment, stirs,
Looks at her like he gets it and says,
“I think it would be the same. Don’t you?”
She thinks so
But she doesn't think he grasped what she truly meant—
And tonight she isn’t ready to explain it.

To read "N" — Need, click here.
Silhouette of female and male hands together in the dark.

A Love Affair, From A to Z: “J” – Just Let Go

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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

“Just let go.”
He says it over drinks, leaning close,
Both of them breathless at a conversation
Bearing so much possibility.
“Just do it, do this with me,
Don't worry so much, and feel this. Okay?”
She is, she is,
Feeling so much her heart could explode,
And her words spill from her lips like winded sighs
“I love you, I love you…”
And yet—
There's that part inside brewing,
Worrying about the future, worrying that their secret, sacred love
Is going to break,
Because their reality is a cruel, cruel thing.
But he slips his hand across the table,
Lacing his fingers with hers and flashing her that entrancing, magnificent smile
Below eyes she has silently melted into for years.
He says, “Be here, with me.”
And she is right there,
Grounded in him
All over again.

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

In This Bar

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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

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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.

*

B/W image of woman with knees tucked into chest, longing; Belikova ©123RF.com

Not a Love Poem

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NOT A LOVE POEM
by
Jade A. Waters

I could write love poems about us for a lifetime
How it could have been
Would have been
If only it had played out differently,
How we’ve pretended all this time,
It isn't there between us.
We are too busy smiling,
Laughing
Playing games like two old pals
Who dance around that past, that night
That choice
Even if we both know it was the right one.

The problem is, right isn't always easy
That's why it’s here sometimes—
A fount of heat, a life of love
The secret burning in your eyes
Even though you know, I know,
We know
Not to play that part.
That love is gone, forsaken
A distant memory of a long ago past
The answer to a question
We cannot ask
Again.

So, here we are, playing a new game
Turning around the right answer
The good answer
The one that lets us pretend
We are blind to this
For yet another day
That we were never meant to be
A love poem—
Just the ghost of words left on the page
For a lifetime
Of love poems past.

*

Shadowy image of woman looking to side wearing bra

Shouldn’t

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SHOULDN'T
by
Jade A. Waters

I know I shouldn’t
Want you like this

Shouldn’t

Feel this way with you
Need you like I do

Want

All the things I get from you
And yet I keep thinking it’s

You

That is the answer
You that makes me crave

This

I don’t even think you see it
Because it’s not possible this

Way

I guess I’m loving you from afar
Trying not to let it show

But

It hurts too much
Feels too good and so

I

Will try to ignore it for
There’s nothing more to

Do

*