Category Archives: Tenderness

Darkened silhouette image of woman sitting naked in the dark

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

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The following is the final 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

Zenith, their zenith
Is over and done.
Time has passed and healed her, somewhat
Though the hollow of her belly still
Fights, protests
Wanting their glory restored.
The truth is that theirs was the most beautiful love,
A precious, wonderful thing
That painted her existence in vibrant ways
She’d never imagined before.
Their love filled her soul with joy,
Just as it touched his face with the smiles and laughs he’d lost—
But this vision, their future
Is gone, its tragic ending something they have yet to fully comprehend;
It’s the story they both played into,
Loving as richly and fully as they could.
For now, they will need to find other means,
Some solace in the wreckage they’ve left behind.
And so she stares quietly over their desolate landscape,
Hearing echoes of a melody that once blared throughout a blooming world
As she clutches the tiniest morsel of hope
In her hand. For what, she isn’t sure yet,
But she knows he is out there, their love lingering forever in her heavy heart,
A crystalline memory she will hold
As long as she can.
She takes a breath, lifts her head
And, keeping her fingers wrapped tight around hope,
She sets out across this dusty expanse,
One foot, then the other
Once more.

Blurred image of a sexy pair kissing in the shower

A Love Affair, From A to Z: “U” – Under The Water

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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

Under the water he leads her,
A shower to wash away the sweet smell of their love
As much as the tears that have escaped down her cheeks.
He swipes at them, pulls her close,
His heartbeat steady through the wall of his chest and
Communing with the wild pace of hers.
“I know you hurt. I know that’s how you look at things,
But I don’t. Just…”
He shuffles his feet until his hips are tighter to hers
And he stares at her with eyes she wants to drown in as he says,
“Kiss me.”
She loves it when he says this,
Loves the way he can almost make everything okay again
As if nothing else, beyond this moment
Matters when it comes to them.
So she’s quick to press her lips to his,
Letting his kiss sweep her up
His fingers stroking along her back
To draw her nearer, always nearer,
His wet skin on hers feels too good
Too sweet, and as the kiss speeds and deepens
And their breaths grow windy,
Both of them are pining
For one more fuck
One more hold
One more whisper of the love they share.

To read "V" — Vastness, click here.
Tender moment lovers holding each other in a close intimate embrace , view from behind the bare back of the man

A Love Affair, From A to Z: “T” – Time

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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

Time is flying too swiftly by
The end getting close
Disintegrating her heart like it was made of sand—
A million little pieces blowing off in the distance
Every time she waits to see him.
When he arrives, he’s all smiles and kisses.
He tells her, “We’re going to be okay,
It won't be any different,”
And she vows to lose herself in his arms again,
In deep kisses that stoke the fire of her soul
Reminding her of why she loves him
Of why she risked this
And how good he can make her feel
Like he does now,
Telling her of some new adventure ahead
As he kisses her temple
And draws her into his embrace.
She hears the voices of her friends
Telling her she is brave, feeling this
Doing this,
But with the ache bearing down inside her,
Unsettling her as much as it does
She isn’t sure she feels the same.

To read "U" — Under The Water, click here.
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.
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.
Couple lounging in bed in underwear and lingerie grazing hands

A Love Affair, From A to Z: “L” – Lucky

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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

Lucky is how she feels with him
Whenever they banter, or even when they spat
Which is rare.
Seeing him breathes new life
Into what she thought this living thing was about,
What she'd convinced herself was the meaning of it all
“Can I tell you a secret?” she asks him
And as they lay there, she confesses that all this time
Before they knew
Before they shared
She’d been spinning tale after tale
Of what she thought it would be like,
What their love could taste like
Even though she probably wasn’t supposed to.
“I guess I could have known for a while,
If I’d just paid attention,” he says.
Yes, if he’d just paid attention
Like he does now, stroking her cheek,
Slipping up beside her again
And making her feel like the luckiest woman alive.

To read "M" — Mapping Her Heart, click here.
Photo of couple laying on sides kissing passionately

A Love Affair, From A to Z: “K” – Kisses

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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

Kisses, his kisses
Are her distraction throughout any day,
The sweetest addiction she craves when they are apart.
She imagines how he holds her when he gives them—
The fierce press of his lips,
The way his body is hot against hers
Always comforting, eternally strong.
And then there is the way they play their staring game sometimes,
In the deep kisses they share whenever they fuck;
He likes to dare her to look away—
His beautiful brown eyes seeking so far into her soul—
And it takes her a few rounds of this before she doesn't back away.
Now, she stares too, both of them smiling while
They fuck and kiss, never averting their eyes
I know you, I love you, I have you, always
Is the quiet song she hears behind these stares,
It is etched into their hearts, their very beings
And I see you.
This she knows—that he sees her,
Right down to the core of her,
And she never wants the kisses to stop.

To read "L" — Lucky, 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.
Athletic man kissing and embracing beautiful woman in the shower

A Love Affair, From A to Z: “I” – I Miss You

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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

I miss you, she writes him
Because the space has been too much,
But these words can't encompass
The depth of what she really means.
So when he comes to her, she kisses him,
Each kiss a taste to accompany her explanation.
“When I say ‘I miss you,’ I mean
I miss your voice, your laugh
Your eyes, heart, and love,
Your touch.” She whispers now,
Kissing his fingertips, then guiding them over her breast
With a smile.
“Your touch is irresistible,
Like your kisses...”
The words are lost when his mouth meets hers,
His hands parting the sides of her robe
Letting it slip away to the kitchen floor.
She wears barely anything for him,
Lacy things to be admired and discarded,
Which is how it happens, and what she likes.
His eyes rake over her as he says,
“I missed you too. And I love this,”
Before they begin their dance once more.

To read "J" — Just Let Go, click here.