When love meets with the august days of life,
it still burns hot yet tempered by the days.
The passions still doth sear in flame despite
the cloudiness now seen within the gaze.
For with our age, I can offer wisdom.
For you are sage, which is no mere caprice.
You bring calm that enfolds our wee kingdom.
And for my part, I gift you all my peace.
The hallowed love between us was ne’er gift.
Such love is not a rolling of the dice.
We labored hard to heal our sometimes rifts
before those fateful chasms split our life.
Our ship, my love, has weathered every rack.
Our days, my love, are filled with loving pax.
Stanley is published in Aproprose Journal, Art of Fatherhood, DiVerses, Flyover Country, The Good Men Project, High Summer, Manic World, Northeast Coast, Porchlight Posts, Raven’s Perch, among others. Stanley was poet-in-residence at the Indiana University TEDx event. His Black Lives Matter series are archived at the University of Michigan-Flint Library.
