Love poems of Frederick Douglas Harper

TODAY AND TOMORROW 
Happy today, 
Sad tomorrow; 
Loved today, 
Rejected tomorrow; 
Hello today, 
Good-bye tomorrow; 
Here today, 
Gone tomorrow; 
Thus is life. 
Reprinted: Harper’s Romantica: On Peace and Romance, 1988. 

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Frederick Douglas Harper 
 
54 
POETIC LETTER TO MY LOVE 
If I never see you again, 
Remember our good times 
Together; 
If I must go today or tomorrow, 
Remember my love for you 
And things we shared; 
I have not deferred your call 
In times of need; 
I have not promised the 
Unfulfillable; 
If it is God’s will that I not 
See you again in this world, 
Just remember: 
I loved you then, 
I love you now, and 
I will love you forever. 
Reprinted: Harper’s Romantica: On Peace and Romance, 1988. 

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LOVE POEMS of Frederick Douglas Harper 
 
55 
LOVE IS LIKE A CANDLE LIT 
Love is like a candle lit 
And burning; 
Sometimes bright and light, 
Sometimes dull and dim, 
Sometimes flickering and unsteady— 
Pacing its way into the dark. 
Love is like a candle lit 
And glowing; 
Spewing its brilliance toward the heavens, 
Casting its warmth with gentle wind, 
Buttressing confidences with hopes of joy. 
Love is like a candle lit 
And burning; 
And though love’s precious candle may 
One day burn cold, its memories 
Must be savored and cherished always. 
Reprinted: Harper’s Romantica: On Peace and Romance, 1988. 

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Frederick Douglas Harper 
 
56 
SICK LOVE 
I tell you, 
There is no love 
In the slavery of another; 
There is no love in death 
From love, as with 
Romeo and Juliet or 
Othello and Desdemona; 
There is no love 
In a love not loved, 
Or a love betrayed, 
Or a love paid; 
There is no love 
In the love of a body’s pleasure 
Alone, or a love of repeated 
Anger and destruction atoned; 
There is no love 
In a love that is sick. 
Reprinted: Harper’s Romantica: On Peace and Romance, 1988. 

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LOVE POEMS of Frederick Douglas Harper 
 
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