LOVE AND LOVERS
by
TOD HOWARD HAWKS
Chapter 25
"Of course, all people are different one from another, each in her/his own way," said Bian to Jon, "but in a superficial way, only. But where it matters--that is to say, in their hearts--they are one. All need love. All are love."
"All is love. Cosmos is love. When I am in your presence, Bian, I am enveloped by love. When I chat and laugh with you, when I hold and kiss you, when I make love with you, all becomes love," said Jon.
"Read me another of your love poems, Jon," asked Bian.
Without a word, Jon walked toward his satchel, opened it, found the poem he wanted to share with his wife, and began reading.
BETWEEN MY HEART AND HANDS
Between my heart and hands, I
hold you. I told you so yesterday,
a day that lasted longer than a long
summer. I come to you with no noise,
no pretense. I am poised to press you
against me and let my hair mingle with
yours. I am aroused to put my lips on
your neck, my hands on your curves.
I am satisfied for a moment, but then you
overwhelm me, and again I am insatiable.
This clarion call is to consume you. Do
I dare lay you down in the grass, to love
you, alas, 'til day becomes night, and
night tomorrow?
In bed, their world became timeless. Moments became murmurs, minutes cries of passion.
Over breakfast, Bian and Jon enjoyed talking about Pablo Neruda and Che Guevarra whose hometowns they would be visiting in Chile and Argentina, respectively.
Pablo Neruda was born 12 July 1904 in Parral, Maule Region, Chile. He was a poet, diplomat, and politician. In 1971, he won the Nobel Prize in Literature. Among the most famous of his collections is TWENTY LOVE POEMS AND A SONG OF DESPAIR. Neruda was a close adviser to President Allende. Concurrent with dictator Pinochet's coup d'etat in 1973, Neruda left the hospital where he was being treated for cancer, fearing he might be killed by one of Pinochet's agents. Neruda died on 23 September 1973 in Santiago at the age of 69. The cause of his death is still being debated.
Che Guevarra was born on 14 June 1928 in Rosario, Argentina. He was a physician, a writer, and a Marxist guerrilla leader. He traveled as a medical student throughout South America and was enraged by the hunger, poverty, and disease he saw everywhere. Later, he met Fidel Castro in Mexico City and joined the "26th of July Movement." In Cuba, he became second-in-command to Castro. Guevarra was murdered by CIA-affiliated Bolivian forces on 9 October 1967. He was 39-years-old.