Beginning at the beginning

Love is the Answer

What dries our tears when sorrow nears?
What calms our souls when fear appears?
Love is the answer.

What does God pour into our hearts?
What heals all wounds when trouble starts?
Love is the answer.

What causes great joys that never cease?
What brings about peace when wars increase?
Love is the answer.

What bonds our friendship to the end?
What brings forgiveness when we sin?
Love is the answer.

It's love that does all of these tasks.
It's love that fulfills whatever we ask.
Love is the answer.

Love is the answer to the questions in life.
Love is what makes a man take a wife.
We love because God first loved us.
His blessings are bountiful; His love we can trust.
Love is the answer.

You may ask me what love is,
Here is the answer I will give,
Love is the answer.

It is fitting to begin this blog with the first poem that inspired all of the rest:  I was asked by my niece to write a poem and recite it for her wedding ceremony in 2009.  Again in 2014, I read this same poem at her husband's funeral.  He died suddenly at the age of 41.  Shortly after, I began regularly writing poetry and accumulated 75 poems before starting my blog in 2016. Those 75 poems began the blog series.