Write…Edit…Publish: All You Need Is Love – February 2022 #WEPFF

Welcome to the Write…Edit…Publish blog hop. The theme for this February edition is All You Need Is Love.

What could be more appropriate for the Valentine month than All You Need is Love, by the Beatles?

All you need is love – interpret this any which way you like. 

Tell us a story about lovers overcoming unsurmountable odds with the power of their love.

Or spin a flash about parental love, unconditional and endless.

Or about platonic love, the support network that friends provide without which individuals can’t function.

All you need is love…or do you? Turn it on its head and tell us how insufficient it is to get by on love alone.

Put the words of the title into the mouth of your MC. Or a minor character. Or have it play somewhere in the background, barely noticeable… 

You see, there are as many takes as there are forms of love.

Remember, there’s no genre restrictions – it’s not necessary to write a traditional romance just because it’s February. Interpret the prompt in the most unValentine-y manner if you like – satire, horror, fantasy, any and all are welcome here, except erotica.

For this challenge I settled on poetry which is my first love… but as I always say, poetry has been ousted by flash fiction. But that’s a story for another day.
Anyway, I penned this poem many years ago. It’s about lovers who overcome insurmountable odds – and it’s payback too! I’m still thinking about a tagline.


Love The Second Time Round 

His mother said, NEVER! The girl was not right…

Her father then put up one heck of a fight!

His brother so eager to burst that love bubble

Her sister so willing to add to the trouble

That was the beginning, how it all started

A decade ago, when the teen couple parted.

 

But over the years they could never forget

The strength of their feelings when they had first met

She decided to give it a fair second chance…

He planned it complete with song, wine and dance.

Both families discovered the secret location

Converged on the love tryst in fits of frustration.

 

Colourful decorations adorned the whole space

Of the “star-cross’d lovers” no visible trace.

The letter left everyone mute and aghast:

“Eat, drink and be merry – have a real blast!

By the time you read this we will be long gone-

The battle is over, we have finally won!

Our chance for love a second time round

Is such a rare gift – true love we have found!

We’ve put an end to this decade of madness

And this time YOU get to feel the deep sadness.

Too many years of non-stop intervention

Lies and deceit – such a bone of contention!

We’ve made a decision, we’re cutting all ties

So sick and so fed-up

of meddling and lies

Just leave us alone to start a new life,

To be happy at last – as husband and wife!”


No of words:
242 words

So what do you think? 

53 Comments

  1. Jemi Fraser on February 16, 2022 at 3:01 pm

    Love it!
    Good for them – I love when meddlers get their come-uppance! Maybe they’ll eat, drink, and discover they all get along 🙂

  2. Damyanti Biswas on February 16, 2022 at 3:39 pm

    I love happy endings–and am rooting for this couple in your poem who are a united front against all the odds!

    • Michelle Wallace on February 20, 2022 at 5:39 am

      Reality is so scary these days, that we need as many happy endings as possible.

  3. C. Lee McKenzie on February 16, 2022 at 6:10 pm

    A “happy in the end” story! Great use of rhyme to tell the story of young love that lasted and persisted. Great job.

    • Michelle Wallace on February 20, 2022 at 5:41 am

      It’s a “happy-in-the-end story” but only for the young couple.
      As for the families, that’s another story.

  4. Elephants Child on February 16, 2022 at 9:06 pm

    Oh yes, they had love. But they also had persistence, determination and courage. Which of those is/was most important? I know not, but love their fresh start.

    • Michelle Wallace on February 20, 2022 at 5:43 am

      After all they endured, a fresh start was most welcome.
      Thank you, Elephants Child!

  5. Olga Godim on February 16, 2022 at 9:35 pm

    Love, love, love this! A marvelous poem!

  6. Alex J. Cavanaugh on February 16, 2022 at 11:57 pm

    Sad it has to come to that but husband and wife is the greater bond.

    • Michelle Wallace on February 20, 2022 at 5:44 am

      Definitely.
      The meddlesome family had to get what was coming to them.

  7. Nancy Williams on February 17, 2022 at 2:51 am

    Lovely poem.
    Nancy

  8. Shannon Lawrence on February 17, 2022 at 4:15 am

    Ah, the meddlers need to get their comeuppance. It’s good the couple can stick together.

    • Michelle Wallace on February 20, 2022 at 5:45 am

      Something had to give. The couple waited long enough.

  9. Denise Covey on February 17, 2022 at 5:04 am

    Hey Michelle! Thanks for joining us. Am glad you had something that fits the prompt. Quite the Romeo + Juliet story with a twist. Excellent fun. I love the trick they played on the meddlers!

    • Michelle Wallace on February 20, 2022 at 5:46 am

      Romeo and Juliet with a twist? That sounds nice.
      I’m glad that I joined in the challenge.
      Thank you, Denise!

  10. Patricia Anne Pierce-garcia Schaack on February 17, 2022 at 8:28 am

    Hi,
    Beautiful! I have no idea how many families get involved in the relationships of their children and try to pick the proper wife or husband, but I surmise there are many. I love the way you spin the second chance, and the family’s inherent loss because they refused to let the two people live their own lives.
    Shalom aleichem

    • Michelle Wallace on February 20, 2022 at 5:48 am

      When it comes to matters of the heart and choosing a life partner, family interference, whether directly or indirectly, is more common than we realize.

  11. Nilanjana Bose on February 17, 2022 at 10:29 am

    First, so very glad you could join us! And with such a fun poem too. I love that the couple wrested their second chance and escaped their busybody families. Happens still in this day and age in far too many communities.

    • Michelle Wallace on February 20, 2022 at 5:49 am

      Thank you, Nila! Happy to be here.
      Yes, this type of meddling happens in many communities and across cultures.

  12. Debbie D. on February 17, 2022 at 10:42 pm

    Michelle, great job with the poem! It fits the prompt perfectly, and I love how they set up their parents in the end. 😀 My husband and I faced a similar situation from relatives on both sides. But, unlike your young couple, we refused to let them break us up.

    • Michelle Wallace on February 20, 2022 at 5:55 am

      Thank you, Debbie! 😊
      Good for you and your husband. I’m sure it wasn’t easy but you persisted… and love prevailed.

  13. Kalpana on February 18, 2022 at 5:52 am

    A poem with a story! I loved it. It’s so true that people meddle in things that have nothing to do with them and often ruin relationships in the process.

  14. L.G. Keltner on February 18, 2022 at 11:42 pm

    This is a great poem! Meddlesome families can be the worst sometimes. I love how the couple revealed their intention to cut ties and start their new lives together!

  15. Pennie Nichols on February 19, 2022 at 2:44 am

    Begs the question: How much did the family’s resistance to the union contribute to its strength and eventuality? Fun poem and story. Thanks for this.

    • Michelle Wallace on February 20, 2022 at 5:58 am

      Now that’s something to think about.
      Thank you for visiting my place, Pennie. Nice to meet you!

  16. Bernadette on February 19, 2022 at 6:35 am

    Good for them. 😀

  17. Hilary Melton-Butcher on February 20, 2022 at 12:18 pm

    Hi Michelle – a wonderful take … loved it – just a delight to read. My cousin married young and they’re still together, one of her daughter’s did too (met in SA) – happily settled … and now living in Aus. I love it … excellent take … cheers Hilary

  18. Sally on February 21, 2022 at 4:19 pm

    Great poem – so many people suffer from other people’s views on their relationships, glad they finally got their second chance.

    • Michelle Wallace on February 27, 2022 at 3:29 pm

      Many relationships have been derailed by meddling family/friends. Thank you, Sally!

  19. Anstice Brown on February 21, 2022 at 9:29 pm

    This is a really enjoyable poem. It’s a shame that Romeo & Juliet didn’t end this way instead of in tragedy. Families aren’t always right about relationships.

    • Michelle Wallace on February 27, 2022 at 3:30 pm

      Families say that they “mean well” when meddling in relationships, but quite often do more harm than good.

  20. Jackie Begue on February 22, 2022 at 2:06 am

    The power of love abides! Lovely.

  21. Shilpa Gupte on February 23, 2022 at 11:40 am

    I loved the poem, and am so happy for the couple who gave love a second chance. Glad, too, that the meddlesome family is out of the picture. Who needs them, when the two have each other!

    • Michelle Wallace on February 27, 2022 at 3:34 pm

      Meddlesome and ‘know-it-all’ family members don’t realize the damage that they inflict, until it is too late.

  22. Jamie of uniquely maladjusted but fun on February 25, 2022 at 5:37 pm

    Seems that a lot of families lose their offspring by demanding they love someone other than who they actually love. “Love you too much to let you love freely.” It’s crap and rarely justified.

    Excellent poem. Good for the characters.

  23. Sonia Dogra on March 2, 2022 at 12:32 pm

    Hi Michelle. I’m so sorry for visiting this late. Many congratulations for the win. Such a ‘love’ ly take. Reminded me of my own wedding and the brouhaha that had erupted.

    • Michelle Wallace on March 5, 2022 at 7:49 am

      Brouhaha… love the word!
      Thanks for visiting. It’s never too late and every visit/comment is really appreciated.

  24. An excellent way to use the prompt. A shame when people decide that it’s the “them or us” mentality, especially when it comes to love.
    Hope you’re having a great day! My latest blog post has my theme for the April #AtoZChallenge (I’m writing speculative fiction and looking for prompts).
    At Operation Awesome we have the #PassOrPages query contest going on (friends or enemies to lovers Romance).
    Looks like I’ll be very busy the next few weeks!
    March quote: “Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.” – Mark Twain

    • Michelle Wallace on March 5, 2022 at 7:51 am

      You sound really busy!
      Busy = productive, so that’s a good thing – right?
      Thanks for the visit.

  25. Yolanda Renee on March 4, 2022 at 11:35 pm

    Loved it the first time I read it and still do. Meddling is never a good thing. Like gossip, simply unnecessary, but oh, do folks love them both!

    • Yolanda Renee on March 4, 2022 at 11:46 pm

      Almost forgot, Congratulations!

    • Michelle Wallace on March 5, 2022 at 7:53 am

      Thank you, Yolanda!
      Yes, folks love both.
      Why do folks give so much energy to other peoples’ lives but not their own?
      I always say that if people paid attention to their own lives, as much as they do to the lives of others, well, the world would be a far better place.

  26. Hilary Melton-Butcher on March 5, 2022 at 10:26 am

    Hi Michelle – many congratulations on the Runner Up prize … so pleased they enjoyed their lives – well deserved … cheers Hilary

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