Tender Was the Night

By Melvin L. Jones

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These poems cover the many different aspects of human life. Many were written to evoke people's emotions, to bring out their feelings. While some poems hold a dark chapter in one person's life, another poem holds the joy another person has felt. But all in all, these poems are the story of life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jan 15, 2018
• ISBN: 9781641382847

Book preview

OLIVE BRANCH

He stood there before me,

A frail and beaten shell of his former self

Holding out an olive branch.

The images of years of abuse

Suddenly flooded my mind.

A strong feeling of hate touched my soul

But my heart overruled my emotions.

He was at death’s door

Remorse tugged at him.

I stared at his olive branch

And knew I had a choice

To forgive or walk away.

Life had already served him an imminent death warrant

I knew he was looking for peace of mind

In his final time.

I knew that I needed to find solace in his final days.

I reached out and hugged him

Tears filled my eyes

As I knew that we

Wasted years apart.

THE JOURNEY

He came out of the darkened night

Dazed and bewildered.

He journeyed down the long road,

Searching,

Yet not knowing what he was looking for.

Up ahead, a bright light appeared from nowhere.

The man halted.

Fear remained at bay inside him

As he tried to adjust his sight on the light

An odd feeling grew inside him.

The light seemed to be beckoning him onward.

Exhausted, he trudged forward.

At first, the light remained at the same distance from him

Then suddenly, it grew brilliant before him.

Pausing, he viewed the light.

In a soft, echoing voice, he heard,

"Welcome, your journey has ended.

Heaven awaits you."

HER PRIVATE HELL

She let her gaze stare

A little longer than usual into the mirror

Over the many long months.

The face staring back at her has become nameless.

A silent tear rolled down her cheek.

With great effort,

She held her head up and left home

She walked to the nearby club and registered for the night.

A pain hit her hard in the stomach,

Like a punch from a fist.

She looked over the men in the club,

Searching for one who was alone, she spotted one,

Alone.

Sucking up her courage, she quickly moved over to him

And plopped into a seat across from him.

Forcing herself to meet his surprised stare,

And forcing a pleasant smile,

She spoke the same nightly line,

Buy me a drink?

An approving smile greeted her.

She felt he would be the one for her tonight.

Let’s get drunk, she said.

The drinks flowed plentifully

With her becoming immune to the alcohol,

It was getting harder for her to get drunk.

When she reached her limit,

She finally said the words she knew he wanted to hear

Let’s go home.

In the privacy of her home

Hate filled her vein, her mind, and her heart

She passionately hated this man with her whole being

And yet was giving him consent to rape her.

With the coming of dawn

The morning ritual began.

His last rape of her.

Her faking it.

His leaving money on her table.

She turning over and softly crying.

Tonight she will repeat the same encounter.

Her body was her only means of making money.

OUR HEARTS ARE YOUNG

Laughing into the wind

Our hearts are young but once.

Springtime is youth,

And youth is love.

The blossoming flowers fill the air with sweet fragrance

The warm, gentle air

Beckon us to come and enjoy life.

A leisure stroll in the park

Holding hands

For our hearts are but young

Once each spring.

LITTLE GIRL, LITTLE GIRL

Little girl, little girl, where are your dreams?

They lie deep inside of me

For I have stolen your innocence

And gave you nothing.

Little girl, little girl

Where are you now?

Lost in this world without pity or shame

For I have crushed you with the somber reality of life

And left you bleeding in a hellhole on the street.

Little girl, little girl

What’s left of you now?

For I have come back to you,

To take the last morsel of life left inside of you

And to give you nothing

But death in return.

MY DAUGHTER

My daughter came up to hug me last