February 10, 2017

Don’t Lose That Lovin’ Feelin’

By Warren Holleman

Wellness has many dimensions, and an important one, for many, is finding the love of your life. Another is learning how to keep that flame burning for as long as possible. So that you don’t wake up one day to the sad realization that You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’.

We put a lot of effort into maintaining our cars, our bicycles, even our washing machines. What about our marriages? And other important relationships as well?

One way to maintain your marriage is to remind yourself how you felt when you fell in love. Another is to share those feelings with your spouse. It’s all about keeping those loving feelings alive as time goes by — despite diapers, dishes, and other distractions.

One day I took a few moments to think back to the time–four decades ago–when I fell in love. Before it was all over, I had written this poem:

When I’m with her, sunsets linger longer.

Clouds puff softer, gentler, whiter, purer.

And skies? Too blue to claim that self-same name.

When I meet God in heaven I’ll inquire:

Whence cometh this Technicolor beauty

I see each time she smiles or takes my hand?

The heavens shout to me in ecstasy,

With such sublime, enraptured violence

That hell herself hath not the power

To sway, deny, subdue, or silence it.

Love has struck, and with such percusséd tympani,

That were I never visited again,

My moonstruck soul would still reverberate—

Tremors deep within my bone and marrow,

Echoes ringing to the end of time.

Hallucinogenic drugs? You won’t need them if you’re truly in love!

This sonnet found its way into my play, “All’s Swell That Ends Swell.” It’s a parody of Shakespeare’s romantic comedies in which everything goes wrong but somehow turns out just fine. If you need a sonnet or romantic poem for Valentine’s Day or any other day, you’re welcome to borrow this one, or others you’ll find in this blog: “When Love Comes” and “May I in All Respects Thy Lover Be.” 

Or check out that Shakespeare guy. I hear he’s pretty good. 

And if you like that latte in the photo above, you can get that at Doshi House, right next to the Project Row Houses in Houston’s historic Third Ward. It’s a great place to go with the love of your life, to drink great coffee. And talk. And drink more coffee. And talk some more.

#love