poem “Learning how Love Lasts”, a poem written on Janet Kuypers’ parent’s wedding anniversary about long-lasting love, like how they loved each other for so many years, how they shared tokens of affection with a gold ankh or with quoting Robert Browning’s poem “Come dear, grow old with me - the best is yet to be” how after mom died dad didn’t want to be alone and how when he died he just looked forward to the idea of seeing his wife again, By Chicago Poet Janet Kuypers

[the Writing of Kuypers] [JanetKuypers.com] [Bio] [Poems] [Prose]

See YouTube video of Janet Kuypers reading her poems “Everyone Celebrates Together” first in her ”Akitu” poetry feature and read from her poetry book “(pheromemes) 2015-2017 show poems”, then her poem “Holding Hands (expanded extreme Sestina variation)” originally from cc&d v252 issue/book “Beyond the Gates” and read from her cc&d v5 poetry collection book “On the Edge”, then her 2019 poem “Learning how Love Lasts” (written on her parent’s wedding anniversary) 2/23/19 while she hosted “Poetry Aloud” (Panasonic Lumix 2500 camera; on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Pinterest, Instagram, & Tumblr). #janetkuypers #janetkuyperspoetry #janetkuypersbookreading

See YouTube video of Janet Kuypers reading her poems “Everyone Celebrates Together” first performed in her ”Akitu” poetry feature and read from her poetry book “(pheromemes) 2015-2017 show poems”, then her poem “Holding Hands (expanded extreme Sestina variation)” originally from cc&d v252 issue/book “Beyond the Gates” and read from her cc&d v5 poetry book “On the Edge”, then her 2019 poem “Learning how Love Lasts” (written on her parent’s wedding anniversary) 2/23/19 while she hosted “Poetry Aloud” (this video was filmed from a Panasonic Lumix T56 camera; posted on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Pinterest, Instagram, and Tumblr). #janetkuypers #janetkuyperspoetry #janetkuypersbookreading

See YouTube video ofJanet Kuypers reading her poem “Ocean’s Call to Dive” originally from her book “Antarctica: Wildlife” but read the edited poem read from her contest-winning poetry in the book “Animal Takes XII 2019”, her poem “Escaping the Atmosphere Any Way We Can” (written on Werner Von Braun’s birthday) read from her poetry book “Every Event of the Year (Volume one: January-June)”, then her poem “Learning how Love Lasts” from her poetry book “(pheromones) haiku, Instagram, Twitter, and poetry” during her hosting her the “Poetic License” open mic at Austin’s “Recycled Reads” 8/4/19 (this video was filmed from a Panasonic Lumix 2500 camera).

See YouTube video ofJanet Kuypers reading her poem “Ocean’s Call to Dive” originally from her book “Antarctica: Wildlife” but read the edited poem read from her contest-winning poetry in the book “Animal Takes XII 2019”, her poem “Escaping the Atmosphere Any Way We Can” (written on Werner Von Braun’s birthday) read from her poetry book “Every Event of the Year (Volume one: January-June)”, then her poem “Learning how Love Lasts” from her poetry book “(pheromones) haiku, Instagram, Twitter, and poetry” during her hosting her the “Poetic License” open mic at Austin’s “Recycled Reads” 8/4/19 (from a Panasonic Lumix T56 camera; Sepia Tone filter).

See YouTube video 8/24/19 of Janet Kuypers reading her poem “Xanthoxenite in St. Mary’s Lake”, “Learning how Love Lasts”, and “Check Your Clock” from her 2019 book “(pheromones) haiku, Instagram, Twitter, and poetry” at Georgetown’s “Poetry Aloud” open mic (video from a Panasonic Lumix T56 camera).

See YouTube video 8/24/19 of Janet Kuypers reading her poem “Xanthoxenite in St. Mary’s Lake”, “Learning how Love Lasts”, and “Check Your Clock” from her 2019 book “(pheromones) haiku, Instagram, Twitter, and poetry” at Georgetown’s “Poetry Aloud” open mic (video from a Panasonic Lumix 2500 camera).

Enjoy this YouTube video of Janet Kuypers reading her poem “Learning how Love Lasts” from the Scars Publi cations 2/22 v192 issue of Down in the Dirt, “And I Disappear” during the “Poetic License virtual open mic 2/6/22” she hosted through a Zoom meeting and a Facebook event page (this video was filmed from a Panasonic Lumix 2500 camera; posted on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Pinterest, Instagram, and Tumblr). #janetkuypers #janetkuyperspoem #janetkuypersbookreading

Enjoy this Facebook live video stream of Janet Kuypers reading her poem “Learning how Love Lasts” from the Scars Publi cations 2/22 v192 issue of Down in the Dirt, “And I Disappear” during the “Poetic License virtual open mic 2/6/22” she hosted through a Zoom meeting and a Facebook event page (this video was filmed & streamed from a Samsung S9 camera with an old b&w film filter; posted on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Instagram, and Tumblr). #janetkuypers #janetkuyperspoem #janetkuypersbookreading #janetkuyperspoeticlicense

Enjoy this YouTube video of Janet Kuypers reading her poems “Lanthanum: the shoulders of giants” (+ shared the image from the online release of the poem), “Carbon may have killed the dinosaurs after all” (+ shared the image from the online release of the poem), “Carbon”, “Learning how Love Lasts”, “Evil is Tricky”, “Barium Dateline”, “popular and useless”, “Gold for the foolish at heart ” (+ shared the image from the online release of the poem), and “Xynotyro: It’s Not Ricotta” from the Down in the Dirt 1-4/22 Down in the Dirt issue collection book “The Ice that Was” on 7/6/22, the 1st Wednesday of the month from 1:00-3:00 PM CST in honor of the “Community Poetry” reading (this video was filmed from a Panasonic Lumix 2500 camera; posted on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Pinterest, Instagram, and Tumblr). #janetkuypersbookreading #janetkuyperspoetry #janetkuypers #janetkuypersperiodictablepoetry #janetkuyperstwitterverseperiodictablepoem

Enjoy this Facebook live video stream of Janet Kuypers reading her poems “Lanthanum: the shoulders of giants” (+ shared the image from the online release of the poem), “Carbon may have killed the dinosaurs after all” (+ shared the image from the online release of the poem), “Carbon”, “Learning how Love Lasts”, “Evil is Tricky”, “Barium Dateline”, “popular and useless”, “Gold for the foolish at heart ” (+ shared the image from the online release of the poem), and “Xynotyro: It’s Not Ricotta” from the Down in the Dirt 1-4/22 Down in the Dirt issue collection book “The Ice that Was” on 7/6/22, the 1st Wednesday of the month from 1:00-3:00 PM CST in honor of the “Community Poetry” reading (this video was filmed and streamed live from a Samsung S9 camera with a b&w Old Film filter). #janetkuypersbookreading #janetkuyperspoetry #janetkuypers #janetkuypersperiodictablepoetry #janetkuyperstwitterverseperiodictablepoem

Learning how
Love Lasts
Janet Kuypers
2/18/19
On Valentine’s day,
four days before
their wedding date,
as only a little girl
I would see the box
of chocolates dad
bought for mom.
Thinking about it,
then and now,
I thought this was
just a box of generic
holiday attempts
at affection...
years later, as I
finally compiled my
family tree now
centuries old, I’d find
occasional old photos
of mom and dad,
wedding photos,
b&w photos posing
with friends, photos
of them on a cruise,
even meeting Rod Serling
when his tv show
the Twilight Zone
was at its peak.
Once I was grown
moving on my own,
I asked my mother
if I could have some
of her old cocktail
dresses, dresses she
wore over the years
with dad, absolutely
gorgeous little back
dresses you could see
models wear back in
the day on the runway...
she gave me a few
of those dresses,
but she also gave me
a few pieces of her
jewelry, including
a gold ring with an
ankh on it, after she
explained to me
that dad gave her
this ring and told her
the ankh — this ankh —
was given as a symbol
of everlasting life,
and his everlasting love
for her. My religious
friend’s family may
have found issue with
my wearing a pagan
ring, but to me, the ring
is only about love...
as is the necklace
my dad gave my mom,
that I was thrilled with
when she gave it to me.
It’s a single gold pendant,
on a gold chain, a disc
as big as a silver dollar,
and inscribed on it are
his words, written with words
from Robert Browning’s poem,
Come dear
grow old with me
the best is
yet to be
I think of these things
after she passed away,
and how I would spend
time with dad, because
he couldn’t fathom
spending a single night
alone in their home,
without her. I once
even traveled with him
for one of his weekend
gambling trips, because
he couldn’t fathom
staying in a hotel alone.
His son couldn’t make it,
so I’d be happy to join.
Taking a break from
watching him playing cards
and pulling slot handles,
I stepped outside
to enjoy the sun by the
water near the casino
side entrance; eventually
a supervisor walked over
to ask me if I was okay.
I then realized she
was concerned I may
be feeling suicidal,
standing here alone and
staring at water below
instead of gambling —
because I may have
just lost everything.
It was a sweet concern
from the casino, as well as
a good effort to cover
the casino’s bases,
but there was no need
to worry, not now.
I wasn’t gambling,
I’m just here to make
my dad feel better
because his one love
is no longer with him.
I couldn’t be with dad
when he passed away,
but I was told that as
he was approaching
the end, the last words
he said were that
he couldn’t wait
to see her again.
I hope that thought,
seeing her again,
put him at peace
when he closed his eyes
that final time.

Copyright © Janet Kuypers.

All rights reserved. No material
may be reprinted without express permission.

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