Written for dVerse Poetics: “The Evolution of Love”,
hosted this week by Sanaa. We are asked to write
a poem about love as something sacred – not just
roses and hearts, but the small unseen ways
someone stays, This is my response.
Not the grand pronouncements,
not the ring held up to candlelight,
but the way you learned how I take my coffee,
and never had to ask again.
The hand that pulls the blanket
over my shoulder in the dark.
The errand run without mention.
The argument that ends not with winning
but with respect.
Love is the way you notice I’ve gone quiet.
How you don’t try to fix it,
but stay close, the way a wall stays,
not to cage but to keep the wind out.
Love lives in the ordinary of things.
In the unphotographed dinners.
The inside joke no one else would find funny,
carried for decades like a smooth stone
worn soft by the same two hands.
There is nothing louder than someone who remains.
Who wakes beside you having chosen you again
in the night,
wordless, half-asleep, and still, unmistakably, yes.
This is the sacred part. Not the fire ….
though there is fire ….
but the hearth beneath it.
The thing that holds the heat
long after the flame has gone to bed.
NAR©2026
This is “All Of My Love” by Led Zeppelin
Everything seen here was created by me, unless otherwise indicated. If there’s something you would like to use, ask me; if I think it’s appropriate, I will usually agree. Thanks for your consideration. NAR©2017-present.
The Elephant's Trunk 
Such a tender verse Nancy!
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Thanks so much, Jodi. ❤️
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This is so tender and beautiful sis! Love every syllable.
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This is love, my sister. Thank you. ❤️
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Simply beautiful, Nancy. That’s what love is.
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It really is for us, my friend. Thank you.
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This is so heartfelt and touching. Beautifully written, Nancy.
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So pleased to know that, Eugi. Thanks very much.
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This is a beautiful poem Nancy, emotions that shout in the silence that binds. The Led Sled was a perfect slide into ending another great piece of poetry.
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The Evolution of Love, my friend. No better way to end my love poem than with a group which aged and mellowed along with us. Thank you for your kind and gracious words, Ernie, especially “the silence that binds”. That’s perfect! Much appreciated.
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✌️💗
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Fantastic work that spells out all the aspects, N, but (for me, almost always) your 3rd stanza strikes home most closely & most often.
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I’m so pleased that stanza hit the mark for you, Ron. Those are the best times, when words are unnecessary, unwanted, yet the loving support felt for and by each other cuts through silently. A hug from behind while doing dishes at the sink says it all. Thanks, my friend. 🫶🏼
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Si touching and true Sis 💜💜💜
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Every word, Sis. Thanks 💜
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So beautifully written Nancy.
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Thank you, cara amica. ❤️
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Most welcome dear friend
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I love that you chose that Led Zepp track to accompany your honest poem about longstanding love, Maggie, and these lines especially:
‘Love lives in the ordinary of things.
In the unphotographed dinners.
The inside joke no one else would find funny,
carried for decades like a smooth stone
worn soft by the same two hands.’
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Thanks, Kim. This is all from the heart, my guy and me married 54 years, with a million memories …. including Led Zep concerts! If felt right. Thanks for your lovely comments.
It’s Nancy, BTW
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that is a beautiful poem Nancy! 🤗💜
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Thank you, CA. It’s from the heart. ♥️
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