The Gravity of Us: A Journey Through Love, Transformation, and Endurance

 

Poetry by Roger Keyserling

**Dedication**

 

*To the dreamers, the fighters, and the lovers who weather the storms. This is for those who find beauty in broken places and choose love, again and again, no matter how difficult the path may seem.*

 

*Acknowledgments*

 

This collection of poetry could not have come into existence without the many lives, hearts, and souls that have touched my own. I am grateful to those who have been part of my journey—those who have taught me about love, resilience, and what it means to grow through both joy and pain.

To the version of myself reflected in these words, thank you for continuing to evolve, for seeking connection, and for finding beauty where others might only see the cracks.

And, of course, to **Dee**, the person who inspired much of this work. This journey with you taught me that love is not always easy, but it’s always worth the effort. You’ve shown me the depths of both chaos and intimacy, and through it all, we’ve emerged changed—stronger, more whole, and forever bound by our story.

 

**Introduction**

 

Love is a transformative force. It reshapes us, uncovers parts of ourselves we didn’t know existed, and endures through every trial. This book is a reflection of my personal journey—through the highs and lows, the tenderness and the turbulence of love. Each poem represents a piece of that journey, a map of the heart’s capacity to expand, break, and heal again.

 

The story of **RIck and Dee** forms the backbone of this collection. It’s a tale of two souls intertwined by fate, who, despite their differences, found a way to endure the storms. Dee brought a wild, restless energy into my life, forcing me to confront both my vulnerabilities and my strength. And in that process, we both transformed—into something greater than we were before.

 

Through these pages, you’ll encounter poems that explore love as a transformative power, a longing that lingers even in absence, a connection that is felt in the quiet spaces between words, and a force of nature that defies understanding. You will also see that love, when truly given, is something that endures—through all its imperfections, challenges, and beautiful complexities.

 

I invite you to read these poems not only as a window into my story but as a mirror into your own. Find yourself in these words, and allow them to stir your heart.

 

 

* Love as Transformation*

 

1. **Shadows and Light**

In the shadow of your gaze,

I was clay, unmolded, raw.

You saw what I could not,

A shape waiting to emerge,

Beneath the weight of unspoken fears.

 

You carved me with your hands,

And in the fire of your love, I found form.

The past fell away like autumn leaves,

And I stood new, blooming,

A soul reborn in the light of us.

 

---

 

2. **Metamorphosis**

Before you, I was a seed,

Buried deep in soil thick with doubt.

But your voice, a gentle rain,

Nurtured the dormant parts of me.

You watered roots I didn’t know I had.

 

Now I grow toward the sun,

Each petal an expression of what we became.

In your light, I bloom—

Once silent, now a garden,

Forever transformed by your touch.

 

---

 

3. **Alchemist of Hearts**

You took the leaden heart I held,

Cold and heavy from years of solitude,

And turned it to gold with just a glance.

Each moment with you,

A subtle shift of magic, unseen but felt.

 

What was broken, now gleams,

What was lost, now found in your eyes.

With each breath beside you,

I am more myself, yet something new—

Transformed by the alchemy of love.

 

---

 

4. **A River's Change**

I was still water, silent, unmoved,

Then you came, a force unseen,

Guiding me down new streams,

And where I once stood,

Now I rush with purpose.

 

You stirred the depths,

Turned calm into flow,

And I became a river,

Shaped by your hand,

A landscape reborn.

 

---

 

5. **Silent Echoes**

Your love called to me softly,

A voice I never knew I needed,

It echoed through the chambers of my heart,

Resonating where silence reigned.

 

And now I speak in colors,

In shades you painted on my soul,

I have become the sound of us,

A melody reshaped by your love.

 

---

 

6. **Emergence**

I was bound in a cocoon of doubt,

Fragile, unsure of the wings I held.

But your love was the air that whispered,

"Fly, break free, this is who you are."

 

Now I rise, wings wide,

A butterfly born in your care,

No longer hidden, I soar,

Changed by your gentle hand.

 

---

 

7. **Chisel of Time**

I was a rough stone,

Edges sharp, untouched by grace,

But with each word, each glance,

You smoothed the jagged lines,

Carving something more tender from the hardness.

 

Time spent with you was the chisel,

Slowly shaping me into a form of understanding,

I am no longer what I was—

But the sculpture of love you’ve left behind.

 

---

 

8. **From Ashes**

In the embers of a heart once burned,

You found the spark I had forgotten,

Breathing life into the dust,

Turning ruins into a fire once more.

 

From ashes, I rise,

A phoenix born not of flame,

But of your kindness,

A new heart rebuilt by your love.

 

---

 

9. **Rewoven**

The threads of me were tangled,

Frayed and torn by time and loss,

But your hands were patient,

Weaving new patterns from the scattered strands.

 

Now I wear a cloak of love,

Not the same as before,

But stronger, brighter,

A tapestry reworked by your touch.

 

---

 

**Section 2: Longing and Desire**

 

---

 

1. **The Space Between Us**

Between the miles and the silence,

I feel the pull,

A tension stretching like stars,

Tying me to you.

I reach for you in dreams,

But the space remains,

A constant ache that whispers,

Not yet.

 

---

 

2. **The Ache of Waiting**

Each moment without you is heavy,

Time drags beneath the weight of missing you.

I long for the warmth of your hand,

For the sound of your voice,

The closeness that only you can bring.

 

---

 

3. **Horizon of You**

I chase the horizon,

Where I imagine you waiting.

Each step brings me closer,

Yet still, you remain just out of reach,

A dream I can never quite touch.

 

---

 

4. **The Silent Yearn**

In the quiet of the night,

Your absence speaks louder than words.

I trace the empty space beside me,

Where your warmth should be,

And I crave the soft whisper of your breath

Against my skin.

 

---

 

5. **Touch of a Dream**

I reach for you in the dark,

But only shadows meet my hand.

You are just a breath away,

Yet a thousand miles apart,

A phantom I long to hold,

But can never grasp.

 

---

 

6. **Unfinished Melody**

We are a song unsung,

A melody left incomplete.

Each note I play is missing you,

A symphony of longing,

Waiting for the harmony

Of your return.

 

---

 

7. **Whispers of Distance**

The wind carries your name,

Softly, through the night.

Every breath I take

Is laced with the want of you.

You are far,

But I hear you in the silence,

A distant call I can never reach,

Yet always feel.

 

---

 

8. **The Hunger of Absence**

My soul craves you,

An ache that feeds on time.

Each day without you feels like famine,

And my heart hungers for the feast

Of your return.

 

---

 

9. **Fingers in the Void**

I stretch my hand,

But only air greets me,

The emptiness where you should be.

Still, I reach,

Hoping one day my fingers

Will find you,

And the void will fade.

 

---

**Section 3: Connection and Intimacy**

 

---

 

1. **Silent Conversations**

In the quiet of your gaze,

Words lose their weight.

We speak in touch, in breath,

A language only we know.

No sound is needed here,

Where our souls intertwine,

And silence says everything.

 

---

 

2. **Beneath Your Touch**

Your fingers trace paths

No one else can see.

With each gentle caress,

You map the landscape of my heart,

Marking every hidden scar,

Every joy,

Binding me closer to you

With every touch.

 

---

 

3. **In the Space Between Us**

There’s a space between us,

But it’s not distance,

It’s where we meet.

In that delicate place,

Where your breath mingles with mine,

I find the truest version of us,

Tethered by invisible threads of love.

 

---

 

4. **The Weight of Your Presence**

I feel you before you arrive,

Your presence heavy in the air,

Like a storm waiting to touch the earth.

When you’re near,

The world shifts,

And I am drawn, inescapably,

To the gravity of your being.

 

---

 

5. **Heartbeat Synchrony**

Our hearts beat in time,

A rhythm only we know.

Even when we’re apart,

I feel the pulse of you

Beneath my skin,

A constant reminder

That we are connected,

Always.

 

---

 

6. **Breath of Us**

We share the same breath,

Inhale, exhale,

A rhythm so simple,

Yet it binds us tighter

Than words ever could.

In every breath,

I find a part of you

That lives inside of me.

 

---

 

7. **Threaded Souls**

We are woven together,

Thread by thread,

In a tapestry only we understand.

Every touch, every glance,

A stitch that binds us,

Tighter,

Until we are no longer separate,

But one.

 

---

 

8. **Closer Than Skin**

You are closer to me

Than my own skin.

Even when we’re apart,

I feel you,

In the spaces between my bones,

In the air I breathe,

A presence so deep,

It cannot be seen,

But always felt.

 

---

 

9. **Invisible Ties**

No one sees the ties

That bind us,

Invisible, but strong.

With every moment,

We weave ourselves closer,

Each touch a knot,

Each word a thread,

Until there is no beginning or end,

Only us.

 

---

 

**Section 4: Nature and Romance**

 

---

 

1. **Beneath the Willow’s Shade**

We sat beneath the willow’s shade,

Its branches swayed, brushing against the earth,

And there, in that sacred space of green,

Your hand found mine,

An effortless touch, like the wind to the leaves.

The sun fell in slanted rays through the branches,

A golden web weaving us closer.

The world beyond seemed far away,

And in that moment,

We were not just lovers,

But part of the earth,

Two souls entwined with the roots beneath us,

Growing together in silent understanding.

 

---

 

2. **Between Mountains and Sky**

There’s a place where mountains kiss the sky,

Where the horizon bends to meet the earth.

I took you there once,

To show you how love rises,

As solid as stone, as boundless as clouds.

We stood on the edge, where land meets air,

Our breaths mingling with the crisp, open sky.

And in that stillness,

I realized that loving you

Was like the mountain standing tall—

Unyielding, strong, and eternal—

But as free as the sky that drifts without boundary,

Forever soaring toward the infinite.

 

---

 

3. **Ocean’s Embrace**

The tide rolls in,

Sweeping over the shore like your arms around me.

The pull of the moon, the pull of you—

Both undeniable forces,

Drawing me closer with every wave.

We stand with our feet in the foam,

And I feel the currents beneath,

The deep pull of something ancient,

A love as old as the sea itself.

In your eyes, I see the depths,

An ocean of feeling, vast and untamed,

And like the waves,

I cannot help but surrender to you,

Over and over again.

 

---

 

4. **The Garden’s Secret**

We planted a garden in the spring,

Not knowing what it would become.

Each seed we buried deep,

Hoping for a bloom, for something new to grow.

And in the soft light of dawn,

I watched the first shoots break through the soil,

Tender and green, like our love was in those early days.

Now, the garden is wild with color,

Petals of every shade stretching toward the sun,

And in the midst of this blooming wonder,

I realize that the love we planted has grown,

More beautiful than we ever dreamed.

 

---

 

5. **Forest of Us**

We wander through the forest,

Hand in hand, the trees our silent witnesses.

The air is thick with the scent of pine,

And each step feels like a secret whispered by the earth.

The path ahead is uncertain,

But I am not afraid,

Because your hand is in mine,

And that is all I need.

The leaves rustle above,

A symphony of nature’s song,

And as the sun dips low, casting shadows,

I know that no matter where this path leads,

We will find our way through the forest together.

 

---

 

6. **Stars in Your Eyes**

We lay beneath the stars,

The night sky a canvas of light.

I trace constellations in your eyes,

Finding new galaxies in every glance.

The world seems small beneath the vastness,

Yet in this moment, nothing else exists.

Your breath mingles with the cool night air,

And I feel the universe turning around us,

Like the stars themselves are watching,

Waiting for us to make our wish.

I close my eyes and know—

The only star I need is the one shining in your gaze.

 

---

 

7. **River’s Song**

We followed the river’s winding path,

Listening to its song as it danced over stones.

It whispered of journeys taken,

Of love found in the quiet places where the water runs deep.

I dipped my fingers into the cool stream,

Feeling its life, its movement,

And you watched, a soft smile on your lips.

In that moment, the river became our witness,

Its current a reminder of how love flows,

Sometimes rushing, sometimes still,

But always moving forward,

Carving its way through the landscape of our hearts.

 

---

 

8. **Whispers of the Wind**

The wind carries your name,

Softly, across the meadow.

It lifts the wildflowers in its path,

Brushing against my skin like your fingertips once did.

I close my eyes, letting the breeze pull me,

And in the whisper of the wind, I hear you—

A voice carried on the air,

A love that moves with the unseen forces,

Tugging at my heart,

Even when you are far away.

And in that gentle gust,

I find the memory of us,

A love as free as the wind,

Forever carried across the world.

 

---

 

9. **Eternal Spring**

There is a spring that never ends,

A place where the flowers bloom year-round,

And the air is always sweet with possibility.

I found it in your love,

A garden where time stands still,

Where every petal of affection unfurls slowly,

Revealing more beauty than I thought possible.

In this eternal spring,

Our love grows like vines,

Twisting around the trellis of our hearts,

Strong, resilient, forever blossoming.

And even when winter comes to the world outside,

Here, within our garden,

It is always spring.

 

---

 

**Section 5: Endurance of Love**

 

---

 

1. **Weathering the Storm**

The storm came, fierce and unrelenting,

Winds howling, rain lashing at our hearts.

We stood together, hand in hand,

Sheltering beneath the fragile cover of trust.

But even as the skies darkened,

And the world seemed to tear at our seams,

We did not break.

For love is not found in the absence of storms,

But in standing firm through the rain,

Knowing that after the clouds part,

The sun will rise again,

And we will be stronger for it.

 

---

 

2. **Through the Winter**

Winter came, cold and unforgiving,

Frost settling over the world,

But in the warmth of your embrace,

I found a fire that would not die.

The nights were long,

And the days seemed endless,

But through it all, you stayed by my side,

A steady flame, a beacon of light.

Now, as spring whispers its return,

I know that no winter could ever freeze

The love we built,

Strong enough to weather any season.

 

---

 

3. **A Love That Waits**

Time stretches like an ocean between us,

Vast, deep, and seemingly endless.

But I wait, anchored to the shore of us,

Knowing that love, true love,

Can span even the widest seas.

The tide comes and goes,

Bringing whispers of your presence,

And though I cannot see you now,

I feel the pull,

The constant reminder that love waits,

Patient and unwavering,

Until we are together again.

 

---

 

4. **Roots Beneath the Earth**

Our love is like a tree,

Its roots deep beneath the surface,

Invisible to the eye,

But holding fast through every storm.

The winds may try to break us,

The seasons may change,

But we stand, tall and unshaken,

For beneath the earth,

Where no one can see,

Our love grows stronger,

Tethered by the roots that bind us,

Anchoring us through every storm.

 

---

 

5. **In the Fire’s Glow**

We’ve walked through fire,

Our hearts singed by the flames of doubt,

Yet still, we hold each other close,

Refusing to let the heat tear us apart.

For love is not the absence of flame,

But the decision to keep the fire burning,

To tend it, even when the world blazes around us.

And in the glow of that fire,

I see the truth—

That we are stronger,

Forged in the flames,

Made whole by the heat of our endurance.

 

---

 

6. **Endless Shore**

The sea stretches out before us,

Its waves constant, unyielding,

But we stand on the shore,

Knowing that love, like the ocean,

Is endless.

There will be times when the tide recedes,

When the waves crash harder than before,

But always, always,

The sea returns,

Bringing with it the strength of our love,

An ocean without end,

A shore that waits for us,

No matter how far we drift.

 

---

 

7. **Worn Hands, Strong Hearts**

Our hands are worn,

Calloused from the work of love,

From holding tight when it was easier to let go.

But in those hands, I see strength,

The quiet resilience of a love

That does not fade with time.

We’ve built something here,

Brick by brick, moment by moment,

And though the years may wear us down,

They will never erode the foundation

We’ve built with these worn hands.

 

---

 

8. **Unbroken Thread**

Life pulls at us,

Tugging at the seams of our love,

But still, we hold on,

Threaded together by something unbreakable.

There are moments when the world seems to unravel,

When the distance grows too wide,

But in the quiet of those moments,

I feel the thread that ties us,

Invisible, yet strong,

A bond that no amount of pulling can sever.

For love, true love,

Endures every pull,

Every break,

And always finds its way back.

 

---

 

9. **The Quiet Strength**

There is a quiet strength in us,

A love that does not shout,

But whispers through every touch,

Every shared glance.

It is not the loud proclamations

That keep us together,

But the steady, silent knowing

That no matter what,

We will endure.

Through every storm,

Every trial,

We remain,

A love unspoken yet felt,

A quiet strength that carries us

Through the noise of the world.

 

---

Here is my most ambitious attempt at crafting a poem worthy of you, Dee with all my deepest gratitude and from my heart

**"The Gravity of Us"**

 

I.

In the beginning, there was nothing—

No sound but the hollow echo of silence,

No form but the weight of emptiness,

Until love, like a spark, struck the dark,

And there we were, caught in its fire,

Two wandering souls pulled together

By the unseen force of each other’s need.

 

Rick, a man shaped by time,

Worn at the edges by love’s failures,

Yet still standing, like an ancient tree,

Roots deep in the soil of longing.

He was searching, though he never spoke it aloud,

For someone to fill the spaces left hollow,

For someone to see the light

Hidden beneath the weathered bark.

 

Then came Dee—

A storm in human form,

Eyes like lightning flashing across the sky,

A force too wild to contain,

Too fierce to tame.

He moved through the world like wind over water,

Restless, untouchable,

But there was something in Rick that held him still,

Like the earth anchors the wind,

Soft but unmoving.

 

II.

Their love was born not in stillness,

But in the chaos of desire and restraint,

Like a river meeting the sea,

The currents twisting, colliding,

Yet always moving toward each other.

Rick, patient as the mountains,

Waited for Dee to come closer,

To let himself be vulnerable,

To sink into the gravity of what they were becoming.

 

And Dee, for all his running,

Felt the pull—

An undeniable, magnetic force

That tugged at him when he tried to turn away.

For Rick was not just a man,

But a reflection, a mirror,

Of all Dee had tried to forget about himself.

He saw in Rick’s quiet gaze

The home he had never known he was seeking,

And it terrified him,

For how can a storm be bound to one place?

 

III.

They met at the crossroads of intimacy and freedom,

Where the heart is torn between wanting to be held

And needing to fly.

Yet Rick never tried to cage him.

He loved Dee in the way that nature loves—

Not in possession,

But in allowing him to be wild,

To come and go like the tide.

For Rick understood that love, true love,

Is not found in chains,

But in the choice to stay

Even when the doors are open wide.

 

And so, Dee drifted,

But always found his way back,

Drawn by the quiet constancy of Rick,

Who waited without expectation,

Who loved without conditions.

And Dee, who wore his indifference like armor,

Began to feel the cracks forming,

Began to see that in Rick’s embrace

Was not a prison,

But the freedom to be seen,

Fully, without fear.

 

IV.

Their love was a landscape of contradictions—

At once fragile and indestructible,

A flower blooming through the cracks of stone.

They weathered storms that could have broken lesser men,

But in each trial, they found strength.

For love is not the absence of conflict,

But the choice to endure,

To bend without breaking,

To find beauty in the struggle.

 

Rick, who had known the cold winters of loneliness,

Felt warmth in Dee’s chaotic presence,

As though the sun itself had chosen to linger in his life.

And Dee, who had always run from intimacy,

Felt for the first time that maybe, just maybe,

There was a place for him to rest,

A place where he could be both wild and still.

 

V.

In the quiet moments,

When the world faded away

And there was only the sound of their breathing,

Rick would trace the constellations on Dee’s skin,

Mapping the stars that only he could see,

A universe contained within the space between them.

And Dee, restless as ever,

Would close his eyes and pretend,

Just for a moment,

That he could stay like this—

That he could be enough.

 

For in Rick’s touch was something deeper than passion,

Something more profound than desire.

It was the touch of knowing,

The kind of love that sees every flaw,

Every scar,

And chooses to love anyway.

And Dee, for all his bravado,

Felt small in the face of such love,

But for the first time in his life,

He did not feel the need to run.

 

VI.

They were not perfect,

But perfection was never the goal.

They were messy, human, flawed,

But in those imperfections, they found each other.

Like two rivers meeting at the mouth of the ocean,

Their love flowed together,

Carving new paths through the landscape of their lives,

Always moving, always changing,

Yet always returning to the same shore.

 

And though Dee would drift,

And though Rick would wait,

They both knew—

Their love was the kind that endures,

Not because it is easy,

But because it is worth it.

For love, true love,

Is not measured in moments of bliss,

But in the decision to stay through the storms,

To build something beautiful

From the broken pieces.

 

VII.

In the end, it was not a love of halves,

But a love that filled every space,

That expanded beyond the boundaries of fear and doubt.

Rick, who had once been lost,

Found his home in Dee’s wild heart,

And Dee, who had always run,

Finally found a reason to stay.

 

Together, they were a masterpiece in progress,

A story still being written,

Etched in the language of touch,

Of silence, of understanding.

For theirs was not a love of grand gestures,

But of quiet moments,

Of shared glances across crowded rooms,

Of hands held in the dark,

Of a promise made not in words,

But in the simple act of being there.

 

VIII.

And as the years passed,

As the storms came and went,

They stood firm—

Two souls bound not by fate,

But by choice,

By the decision to love,

Again and again,

In every moment,

In every breath.

 

For in the end,

Love is not found in the absence of pain,

But in the endurance of it,

In the way two hearts can break

And still find a way to beat in harmony.

 

And so, they remained—

Rick and Dee,

Two stars in the same sky,

Two rivers flowing toward the same sea,

Always together,

Always enough.

 

---

Author Note:

I gave this last poem to “Dee” about my relationship with him

This poem delves into the essence of Rick and Dee’s relationship, exploring their journey through the themes of endurance, love’s complexity, and the beauty found in imperfection. It highlights the transformative power of love while acknowledging its challenges, crafting a narrative that speaks to both their individuality and their connection. I hope it resonates with the depth and power

 

Closing Remarks

 

Love, as it grows and endures, is not something static; it changes, it transforms, and it reveals us to ourselves. Rick and Dee’s journey, woven into these poems, is one of growth, struggle, and discovery. Through every storm and quiet moment, love remained their constant, a beacon that guided them toward each other.

 

May you find, in these poems, a reflection of your own heart and a reminder that love is not only what we feel but what we choose