AFTER THE LOVIN'



I know it was a leap of faith for the two of us, both coming from relationships where our partners have jilted us for former partners. I still marvel at the parallelism of it. It all felt so much like something 'written-in-the-stars' and yes, allow me not to be sober about this. But of course we didn't know it then. We just knew we liked to be with each other. We didn't want to bog things down with too many 'gotcha' questions... hardly enough brave answers anyway.

The first few months were touch and go, weren't they? I can't remember now what kept us going on but I do seem to remember a sense of reluctance to let go of everything about our individual selves and yield to the 'us' and to whatever it was that bound it. These days, you would teasingly say to anyone who asked that I did the courting. And yes, maybe I did. Not the initial one, but during this period, I think I might have. You were on the high road of your career path since day one, carving your niche, crossing over the thresholds of your frontier. I was a student, measly as these things went, as opposed to where you were. And I guess I was feeling left out, but I didn't want to be, so I clung on.

Until the day you thought I've let go... until that day. And then you shed a tear for me, before me, and I knew then that it will never happen. And you knew then that you loved me.



And that was the time, wasn't it, when everything we were burst into bloom? And being together meant so much more, like the grass awaits the wind, or the morning sky the sun, we complete. And it got us into grips, that though life was vivid, we could hardly breath.

And when old folks thought they knew better, and tried to keep us apart, we showed them that they didn't know anything at all, didn't we?

That was fourteen years ago, today.

Don't you think it's like a cycle? When we married each other, I guess we put our relationship a rung higher, but it's the same old steps. After the initial euphoria of this 'something new' in our lives, we just didn't know what to do with each other, and yes, my love, here is where you smile remembering.



But we were always kind. And we were always warm. We were always gentle when we touched. And our kisses always lingered. We spent so much time apart and yet we were together in so many ways than these. I know that during the days, we couldn't help but want to devour all the world that came before our eyes, no matter even that the world you see may be a tad different from the world I deem. But always, always, in the quiet of the night, we held for each other a pillow for our fears.

And now I find that there is less and less of the world with each new day, and with it comes more and more of us. We've built a good life, you and I, and I'd like to think that the cornerstone of it all is our love. I have a lot to thank you for. For everything that we've been through, even for the going through them, for you tried to make it easy for me all the time. For where we are now... yes, the 'now', because if it's at all possible, the 'now' becomes better everytime it comes around. And hey, let's not forget what we have to look forward to a few months down the road. It's all so great and exciting. Most of all, thank you for making me wake each day in anticipation of loving you again, for another day.

Happy Anniversary.

I love you.


so I sing you to sleep, after the lovin'
with a song I just wrote yesterday
and I hope you can hear
what the words and the music have to say

it's so hard to explain, everything that I'm feelin'
face to face I just seem to go dry
but I love you so much
that the sound of your voice can get me high.

thanks for takin' me, on a one way trip to the sun
and thanks for turnin' me into someone

so I sing you to sleep, after the lovin'
I brush back the hair from your eyes
and the love on your face
is so real that it makes me want to cry

and I know that my song isn't sayin' anything new
oh, but after the lovin' I'm still in love with you

After the Loving
Ritchie Adams/Allen Bernstein