Because the lovers I imagine are safer than the ones I’ve known.

A Kind of Loving
by Rod McKuen

I sing songs for people I can’t have
people I meet once and will never see again.
It is for me a kind of loving.
A kind of loving, for me.

I make words for people I’ve not met
those who will not turn to follow after me.
It is for me a kind of loving.
A kind of loving, for me.

It is for love that I live all alone.
Because the lovers I imagine
are safer than the ones I’ve known.

I make rhymes for people who won’t hear
some who will not turn their faces to meet mine.
It is for me a kind of loving.
A kind of loving, for me.