Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE RECIPE, by BERTON BRALEY


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE RECIPE, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Love is made of tenderness, love is made of fire
Last Line: And faith and hope and charity—and simple common sense.
Subject(s): Love - Nature Of


Love is made of tenderness, love is made of fire,
Of glory and of wonder and of longing and desire,
Of dreams and hopes and fantasies, of passion and of pain,
Of showers after sunshine and of sunshine after rain.

But love that lasts a lifetime is of more material stuff,
It's made of dogged patience when the going's rather rough,
It's made of understanding of a lot of little things,
The irks and quirks and jolts and jerks that daily living brings.

Love that lasts a lifetime has a sense of humor, too,
Which only grins at silly things that wives and husbands do;
Which bears with dreariness at times and boredom now and then,
When sweethearts prove but women and when lovers prove but men.

Love that lasts a lifetime learns to struggle and be brave,
To throw a bluff at destiny and make Dame Fate be-have,
To take the hard luck with the good, the bitter with the sweet,
And figure rent and clothing bills and what it costs to eat.

Love that lasts a lifetime must be practical—as such
It nags and carps a little, but it shouldn't do it much.
A wifely tear, a manly growl will now and then correct
Some faults and peccadilloes that no patience will affect.

Love that lasts a lifetime needn't lose its high romance,
But it's got to be of fiber that can battle Circumstance,
It must have fire and tenderness, and loyalty intense,
And faith and hope and charity—and Simple Common Sense.





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