The First Time I Loved Forever

somewhere i have never traveled, gladly beyond any experience your eyes have their silence in your most frail gesture are things which enclose me, or which i cannot touch because they are too near


The first time I loved forever
Was when you whispered my name
And I knew at once you loved me
For the me of who I am

The first time I loved forever
I cast all else aside
And I bid my heart to follow
Be there no more need to hide

And if wishes and dreams are merely for
children
And if love's a tale for fools
I'll live the dream with you

or if your wish be to close me, I and my life wil shut very beautifully,
suddenly, as when the heart of this flower imagines the snow carefully everywhere descending


For all my life and forever
There's a truth I will always know
When my world divides and shatters
Your love is where I'll go

i do not know what it is about you that closes and opens; only something in me understands the voice of your eyes is deeper that all roses nobody, not ever the rain, has such small hands

The Parable of True Love

The old woman sat on the antique rattan rocking chair. Her eyeglasses were perched precariously on her nose as she concentrated on her sewing chores. A gentle breeze swept the wisp of whitish hair on her temples.

Beside her sat her teen-age granddaughter. She was like a fresh flower recently bloomed. Without warning she suddenly blurted out, "Grandma, why is true love so difficult to find?"

The old woman with a kindly face stopped sewing and touched her granddaughter's head affectionately. After a moment, the young girl cuddled closer, resting her head on the old woman's lap.

"Listen and I will tell you why," began the grandmother.

"Many centuries ago, when the world was young, true love existed everywhere. It was available for the asking. Because of this, men and women took true love for granted, so God decided to keep true love." She stopped and smiled as she gently stroked the young girl's soft tresses. "God asked a pair of angels to keep true love."

"First, they buried true love in the ground. But man and woman easily dug it out. Next, the angels took true love to the highest mountain. But again, man and woman easily climbed to the top. Then the angels submerged true love in the deepest sea. Man and woman swam to the bottom of the body of water and with ease retrieved true love."

"So true love is easy to find," commented the young girl. "For man and woman will dig, climb and swim."

"Yes ... but finally the angels kept true love in the hearts of man and woman. Since then, people have had difficulty searching for true love. For they look everywhere except in the one place that they should keep it."

The Risk of Love

There is a risk involved in everything
Every time you share a smile
Every time you shed a tear
You are opening yourself up to hurt.

Some people tread slowly through life,
Avoiding the closeness risk brings,
Sidestepping the things they can not understand
Turning away from those who care too much-
Those who care stay too long,
Those who hold too tightly.

There is never an easy way to love
You cannot approach it cautiously
It will not wait for you to arm yourself.

It does not care if you turn away
It is everywhere, it is everything.
Love is the greatest of all risks.

It is not reliable, it is not cautious,
It is not sympathetic
It is unprejudiced and unmerciful.
It strikes the strongest of mind,
And brings them to their knees in one blow.

Even in the best of times, love hurts.
It hurts to need, it hurts to belong,
It hurts to be the other part of someone else,
Without either of your consent.

But, from the moment it overtakes you,
It hurts worse to be all alone.
The risk of love never depletes;
It grows stronger and more dangerous with time.
But, it is in the total surrender of all defense,
That we, no matter weak or strong,
No matter willing or captive,
No matter what, we truly experience love.

Despite the many things love is not,
Outweighing it all are the things that love is.
Love is surrender without a loss.
It is a gift without the cost.
It consumes your every thought and desire,
Every breath you take.
It is the fire that fuels you
To do more than pass through life;
It urges you, instead, to live.

No matter the outcome, having felt love,
You will never be the same.
It may scar your heart and soul
And leave you only memories of forever.
Or, it may cause every day of your life
To feel like there is no need for tomorrow.
But, love is worth it. It is worth the risk...

For in all of life,
Love is truly the only risk worth taking.