True love is real... Once upon a time, two youngsters, Joseph & Lidia, five years apart in age, met on a bus ride to a public speaking contest. They began talking about life, goals, dreams, poetry and more. Over time, their conversations grew into a strong friendship, despite their age difference. Years passed, and one day they were blessed with realization that they had found their soulmates, and they got engaged to be married when Joseph graduated college. At the time of their engagement, they had not yet kissed, or even held hands for the first time. One year later, on the day of his graduation, two best friends and soulmates were married, and they never stopped courting. Over the years, for special occasions such as birthdays, anniversaries, and valentine's day, or to celebrate personal moments, Joseph, would write rhymed and metered love poems and life poems to his beautiful bride. The collection of poetry became a memoir, a window into their courtship over the years. As we approach our fiftieth wedding anniversary, we have gathered this collection into this book, Poems of Love & Life: Our Courtship in Rhyme, and we are happy to share it with you, the reader. If it happened to us, it can happen to you, at any time and at any age.