sometimes

sometimes by phil burns

sometimes you almost touch love
it stumbles closer every day
you stretch your fingertips until
it mocks you and slips away

sometimes you almost hear love
perhaps across a telephone line
is that static or just silence
did you miss a crucial sign

sometimes you almost see love
in a simple photograph
but you know you are out of focus
when you hear a scornful laugh

sometimes you almost taste love
you sense it is sweet and pure
you recoil at the bitterness
that no medicine can cure

sometimes you almost know love
though the problems are immense
and a sneering voice informs you
you are sad and too intense

sometimes you almost find love
it draws two hearts together
then conceals itself in darkness
and stays hidden there forever

sometimes you just forget love
because you know it cannot last
it only has one purpose
to remind you of the pain filled past