Ancient Young Love

For how many centuries
have young lovers have been saying:

This modern age isn’t made for us
true love (in our time)
has started to rust.

Because I trust
that even in antiquity —
before we leaked out history,
there were probably two.

Who, held each other’s hearts
in their eyes.
Who bled
when the other one cried.

(Like you and I)

And I
think that one of them probably sat on the train (or however it is he got home)
and tried to push out a poem.

About how his love
wasn’t like anything
he’s ever been shown.

About how it must be something ancient
and old.
Something sacred
he can hold.
Something impossible
to understand
if you’re only ever told.

So now
centuries later
in another modern love age
another young lover puts down on a page:

This modern age isn’t made for us
true love (in our time)
has started to rust.

But not ours.

Copyright 2019 by Paul Curry