Preface to Love—Amor, Collected Poems

Charity’s kindness to carnal love, one word, love (amor), covers so much ground. Love’s a touch with many pressures—driving pins or causing flight, to filling the soul with joyous rhapsodies. In its gentler forms it makes rational sense—the love of family, of friends, of community, of nature . . . In its raucous forms it has an illogical sense for it’s meant to bind a man and woman in a way that will keep them together—to breed and raise a family.

In that mating game, illogic’s logic is of great importance—for, no one who truly loves you can be truly sane (for then it’s not true love). Yet, ¡No one wants to be stuck with a truly crazy person! Besides, the girl wants the guy to “stick” around and help with the family, so she’s got to sense that he’s “madly” in love. And the guy, well, he wants to feel that she’ll be his and only his; but he doesn’t want a basket case either. ¿Complicated enough for you? It’s worse than that,—that’s why at this point in life I’d rather write about it than try to experience it anymore.

Interestingly, I’ve known rare couples that love each other passionately and got through all the craziness of love intact. I don’t pretend to know when love becomes angst, or when love turns sour into bitter hate, or even all the forms of love; but, I know that even as I approach the grave—white hairs or no hairs, the memories of loves gone by still spring up in a moment’s reverie or in a flirtatious occasion. Cupid’s inspirations always cause my heart to skip some beats.

The chapters are not organized in any particular order.