J. Scott Shields

Between the drink order and the salads,
The entrées and the check,
The young couple across the table
Sat shoulder to shoulder
Exchanging sweet stolen glances.
They spoke at length of their wedding,
A mere two months away,
And the life they were planning together.
Those of us listening, more seasoned in years,
Drank in the dew of their affection.

Deep in my bones I recalled such bliss,
Borne by a few fortunate souls.
“Treasure it, protect it,” I wanted to say.
For like all of the world’s blessings, it passes,
Transformed into something wholly other--
Richer, perhaps,
More rooted, divine--
But never again the
Fiery absolute splendor of
Love’s first dawning glow.