Inamorata

Freedom is infinitely better than love

Inamorata

 

Love is a jewel when it is new

A court of fire and vicious ruin

A dance of merry wicked glee

The loss of everything that’s free

 

 A drunken leap from giddy heights

With firm belief in sound and sight

The pull of air that can’t be found

A faith that ends in solid ground

 

With wings of fire and searing grace

Love burns and scars without a trace

It steals the stories we can’t tell

And leaves our groaning souls in hell

 

I have not love to give to you

I will not be your willing fool

Freedom is my higher call

I can and will not choose to fall

 

-Zoe Richardson (2025)

 

Author's Note

I believed in love. Once. I won't make that mistake again.

Reviews

[Betty Hermelee]

This piece really shows us why you choose freedom over love....sometimes we can get burned, like fire from a love relationship...It truly hurts...and sometimes we don't realize it until it is way too late...."love burns and scars without a trace" ...love can get old as well, the passion fades and gets lost.... a very telling piece and very honest!
Warmly, B

[Chris Shaw]

No mistaking your feelings here Zoe. Failed love can leave a shed load of pain and some people would prefer the open road than to risk falling into that trap again. Beautiful poetic expression and rhyme in your stanzas. An excellent composition.

Chris

[Zoe Richardson]

Thank you, dear Chris. I like to think of poems like these as a bug-zapper for feelings. You get it out and then they are gone. And I love the phrase 'shed load of pain.' Please use it in one of your wonderful poem.s

[Chris Shaw]

Thank you for the smile Zoe:)

[jacob erin-cilberto]

I feel this poem...gave it several tries and will not again.
I relate and am impressed by the the thread of oxymoron and paradox that lie within these lines.
j.

[Zoe Richardson]

I am glad they impressed you but I do hope they didn't drive you away! It's always a pleasure when you drop in.

[John the Baptist]

Indeed, love is a jewel when it's new. Actually, that's not love, it's romance. When romance wears off, we get to see what love really is.

[Zoe Richardson]

Or, in my case, what it is not. You are absolutely right, of course, and I hope that you get to see what I did not.

[Einstein Noodle]

first .. thanks for my new word "inamorata" .. it's a good one! ... what a powerful, honest, painful poem .. i feel it all in reading ... not to neglect a bit of anger .. choosing to dive off the edge in full abandon ... i don't think anyone can do it more than once .. is it "love" .. i think not .. would i do it again having never been there before ... absolutely ... looking back i must agree .. the pain is not worth it and that kind of love is way overbalanced .. it's a killer .. love this poem .. rhythm and rhyme are hypnotic .. theme is searing and not all have been to such a place in extreme; but most of us have suffered love, it's costs and it's rewards maybe .. mighty fine poem, Zoe! thanks for sharing
E.

[Zoe Richardson]

There was a time when going to extremes was all I knew. I wouldn't wish that on anyone, but I did learn that even if love wasn't worth the price, the lessons learned from the experience were. Thank you for thoughtful comments. Please stop by anytime!

[Einstein Noodle]

yes!! and igniting the rochets tho headed towards the earth is a very thrilling ride eh!? i remember mine quite well ... eeeeeeyowwwwwwweeeee! ;) ouch.

[Zoe Richardson]

Thrilling doesn't even begin to describe it. I tell people I didn't just burn my bridges, I used nuclear explosives!

[Einstein Noodle]

:)))))))) i hear you Zoe!

[Relic]

Love can be the most colorful garden of roses and tulips, but eventually, as though rain from heavens stopped for too long, those flowers start to wilt. And yet I see some, after years of marriage as happy together as two geese flowing down a calm lake. Go figure.

[Zoe Richardson]

Some of us choose wisely. Some of us do not. If I have learned one thing, however, it is that love can not be one-sided. I am so glad that you found your happiness and wish you both the best going forward. Thank you for your review and insightful comments.

[Vol]

Aw, s**t, Zoe!
If you read Keats, "La Belle Dame Sans Merci, you will find the most amazing wild-eyed, light-footed picture of what happens when you love. In the other hand... My first wife ran off with her boss who later murdered her. My second wife had got pregnant twice by somebody not me, my third wife died of Congestive heart failure, some years later Pat came along and taught me the true meaning of love, then also died of CHF while awaiting a transplant. I was head over heels for every one of them... still am. BUT, I'm not giving up... Bring it on, I survived all that and am ready to start again at seventy-six years old... Powerful emotions are the best evidence you are ALIVE. (Now I've said all that, because it sounds like a love you had hurt you bad, or were enough and impossible to replace...) It is a core of who I am to grab all of life with both hands... I have no fear that I won't make it through... From what I've read of your stuff, I know you THINK, and you know how to feel... life is beautiful mostly because of its scars and flaws.

[Zoe Richardson]

Two abusive marriages and one serious abandonment is enough for my lifetime. I believe you are right when you say that one was enough and yet impossible to replace. Perhaps they all were. I like to think of this as a bug-zapper poem. You get the feelings out and then they are gone. Is all love bad? No. But I don't believe it is meant for me, either. Thank you for stopping by, for your thoughtful words, and I really, really hope you find the love that appreciates and honors you!

[red93]

Very strong Work, well put together and realised. Excellent ✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️

[Zoe Richardson]

Thank you! Welcome to the innerworkings of my mind. It gets bumpy at times but the scenery is excellent! I hope you feel led to stop by agin.