The Four Phases of Love

By Daryl Horton

Melik sat in a dark corner of the bar by himself sipping slowly from a glass of beer. "We use to sit over there," Melik whispered to himself, "next to lane 3. That was our spot. Where could she be? No one has seen or heard from her for several weeks now. This bowling alley has never felt so empty and I've never felt so angry. Time to take matters into my own hands. I'm gonna find her and nobody better stand in my way."

In this story of boy meets girl, Melik had finally given up on love until he meant Tasha, a young girl from a troubled area of town. After falling for each other, she disappears, taken by members of the part of town she lives in. He'll do anything to keep her love. Will he succeed in getting her back?

This is a great book for lovers of the various styles of poetry, for lovers of interesting art, and for anyone who enjoys reading screenplay. Women’s groups, book clubs, and individuals will enjoy the underlying theme of this book and the various art forms the author makes use of here. This book would also make an especially wonderful gift for couples as it offers a story that is nothing less than inspirational.

More than just a story, The Four Phases of Love is a book about the phases of love one engages in upon entering a relationship with another person. The 4 phases of love include courtship, marriage, chaos, and utopia. Rather than exploring each of the phases of love from a research perspective, I use the elements of storytelling, screenplay, poetry, art and imagery to highlight some of the various aspects of the 4 phase of love.

The concepts concerning love, like religion, are fairly universal. What differs are the perspectives each unique individual will establish. I've provided the general idea of what the 4 phases of love are, but it's up to you to decide what meaning these phases hold for you. I hope you enjoy the work contained in the pages of this book.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Daryl Horton
• Release date: Apr 10, 2016
• ISBN: 9781945047053

Daryl Horton

Daryl is the founder of Abolitic, a small publishing company devoted to exploring the world through creative mediums. As a poet, author, artist, and photographer, his work focuses on capturing lived experiences and translating these experiences into something we can all share and feel. Born with pen in hand, Daryl spent his early adult years traveling the world as a U.S. Marine, documenting what could be seen, heard, touched, and felt. Daryl currently resides in South Carolina where, besides writing, he tries to do too much with too little just like any good Marine.

Book preview

The Four Phases of Love

The Four Phases of Love

fRoM DeVeLopiNg lOvE to GRoWinG oLD

by: Daryl E. Horton

Abolitic Books, Twentynine Palms, California

Copyright © 2016 by Daryl Horton.

All rights reserved.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

Published by Poetic Abolition, an imprint of Abolitic Books, a division of Abolitic. For more information, contact the author and publisher at: [e-mail] or visit www.aboliticbooks.com.

Cover, Photos, Art and Design by Daryl E. Horton

Printed in the United States of America.

Second Edition: April 2016

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016905286

PRINT: ISBN-10: 1-945047-01-1 | ISBN-13: 978-1-945047-01-5

MOBI: ISBN-10: 1-945047-04-6 | ISBN-13: 978-1-945047-04-6

EPUB: ISBN-10: 1-945047-05-4 | ISBN-13: 978-1-945047-05-3

The art and poetry contained in the pages of this book are dedicated to love – coming in contact with it, bathing in it, striving for and against it, and learning to understand it more and more with each passing day.

Contents at A Glance

Table of Contents

Preface

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Birth of an Idea

An Evolving Idea

Maturation

The 4 Phases of Love

Part 1: courting love

Act 1: Plot Point 1

Confronting Desire

A Deep Craving

Incomplete Thought

Chest Rhythms

Nap of Neck

The Perfect Canvas

This old heart of mine…

Wishful Dreaming

You and I Make We

Plagiarized Love

Part 2: question answered

Act 2: Plot Point 2

Beyond the Physical

Contagion

The Love Trade

Persistent Love

All I Need

One Heartbeat

Breath of life

Searching For Love

Give Me You

Beauty Undefined

Part 3: troubled waters

Act 3: Climax

Confusions of Love

Gave Her My Heart

Have you ever felt like…

Heaven Sent

Vacancy

Missing You

Separated

Emptiness

Senseless Love

Looking Back

Part 4: no end in sight

Act 3: Resolution

Boundless

Laugh with You

Interchanges of Love

Nine Months Later

Sensually Eager

Beyond Sight

Incalculable

One Plus One Equals One

Until the day we...

Infinite Adoration

Bibliography

About the Author

Other Books by the Author

List of Figures

Fig. 1 Model of the 4 Phases of Love (2015).

Fig. 2 Imprint of Desire (2015).

Fig. 3 Sketched Beauty (2015).

Fig. 4 After Introductions (2015).

Fig. 5 Good Together (2015).

Fig. 6 Recalling Love (2015).

Fig. 7 Exchanged Vows (2015).

Fig. 8 Adventurous Affection (2015).

Fig. 9 House of Love (2015).

Fig. 10 Eve: No Apple (2015).

Fig. 11 Chaotic Atmosphere (2015).

Fig. 12 Framed Desire (2015).

Fig. 13 Regrettably Withdrawn (2015).

Fig. 14 Made for Each Other (2015).

Fig. 15 Barren and Forgotten (2015).

Fig. 16 Mirrored Reflection (2015).

Fig. 17 Blissful Love (2015).

Fig. 18 Irreplaceable Love (2015).

Fig. 19 Wayfaring Love (2015).

Fig. 20 Indissoluble Vows (2015).

Fig. 21 Timeless Love (2015).

Preface

Birth of an Idea

I began writing this book, because I was interested in publishing some of the poetry I've written over the years. I have many interests so finding the right theme was a bit of a challenge at first, but I finally decided to go with a general theme that many reflect on fairly often - Love. My goal was simple: select a few poems relevant to the theme that