Letter to the Editor: A poem: Why not only love now?

Dear Editor,

For the better part of my precious, brilliant God-given lifetime here on earth, I have dreamed of truly becoming a poet, so now I will simply try to write one for all of you. The name is “Why not only love now?”

Love me and I will love you!

Hate me and I will as yet

unconditionally

still forgive you!

And though I know

this does not rhyme,

please, please

give it its all due

iconic time

for tribute’s sake.

I mention tribute because this is about our service people. I originally wrote this poem 40 years ago for Vietnam. I wrote it for our service people, but I wrote it for children as well, and for the elderly. It somehow now just seemed appropriate as a proactive challenge. Some words and phrases that are also meaningful to me that I would like to share are: cherish, be creative, have courage, promise, ramifications, proactive heavenly purpose, universally endowed, tender, gentle, insight, wisdom, grace simply ordained, kindness, choosing hope, initiative, unprecedented, strong yet great humility, poise, passionately empowered with great discretion.

Timothy Laboria

Green River