rediscovering love

by

Love, True Love

Love…
…that fills the heart leaves no room for question. Uncertainty is a construct of the mind. True love doesn’t leave space for doubt. A filled heart laughs in ridicule when questioned.

From a letter by Victor Hugo in 1821 to Adele Foucher
a_heart_full_of_roses_by_fuchsphotoEDITWhen two souls,
which have sought each other for,
however long in the throng,
have finally found each other…
a union, fiery and pure
as they themselves are…
begins on earth
and continues forever in heaven.
This union is love, true love…
a religion, which deifies the loved one,
whose life comes
from devotion and passion,
and for which the greatest sacrifices
are the sweetest delights.
This is the love
which you inspire in me…

by

All I Have

Love…
…told me to stop anticipating her to come calling. Love said, when you expect me no more and your yearning subsides is when I will bring the one you want, need and dream of.

“It’s All I Have To Bring Today ” American Poet Emily Dickinson
man-waitinG EDITIt’s all I have to bring today –
This,
and my heart beside –
This,
and my heart,
and all the fields –
And all the meadows wide –
Be sure you count –
should I forget
Someone the sum could tell –
This,
and my heart,
and all the Bees
Which in the clover dwell.

by

What It Is For Me

Love…
…is this swelling feeling in my chest when I think of you; it is the sparkle in my soul when I recall spending time with you; it is an inexplicable knowing no one will ever touch me like you; it’s an emotional force stronger than any other I’ve known.

Dialogue from the Fox Network T.V. show “The OC”
romance4 editI don’t pretend to know
what love is for everyone,
but I can tell you what it is for me;
love is knowing all about someone,
and still wanting to be with them
more than any other person,
love is trusting them enough
to tell them everything
about yourself, including
the things you might be ashamed of,
love is feeling comfortable
and safe with someone,
but still getting weak knees
when they walk into a room
and smile at you.

by

The Flower of My Life

Love…
…is tested by time. Like water, some evaporates over time till little to nothing remains. Then there is love that flows onward keeping its depth and fullness like a spring fed pond ever flowing fresh, strong and inviting.

From a Robert Browning letter to Elizabeth Barrett Dec. 31, 1845
victorian_couple_20_by_digimaree-d4ystqk…this is my first song,
my true song –
this love I bear you –
I look into my heart
and then let it go forth
under that name – love.
I am more than mistrustful
of many other feelings in me:
they are not earnest enough;
so far true enough –
but this is all the flower of my life
which you call forth
and which lies at your feet.

by

A Durable Fire

Love…
…that burned once leaves embers in the heart that can last a life time. Sometime if fanned just right the remains can leap into flame once again. Some love comes and goes; some arrives and never departs.

English aristocrat, writer, poet and explorer Sir Walter Raleigh
flame_from_a_burning_candleBut true love
is a durable fire,
In the mind
ever burning,
Never sick,
never old,
never dead,
From itself
never turning.

by

To Be Loved So Much

Love…
…sparkled all around when last I saw you. The smile on your face was one of real happiness. Even the way you walked spoke love softly for anyone paying attention. I was. It is humbling to be loved so much.

19th Century German Chancellor Bismarck to his wife Johanna
happy_older_coupleYou have
fanned
to life
again
the coal
that under
ashes
and debris
still glowed
in me…

by

What This Is All About

Love…
…comes from hope and possibility. It sprouts unexpectedly and unplanned. It grows with patience and understanding. It blossoms with attraction and desire. It fruits with truth and faithfulness.

Taken from Love Without a Doubt by David Taylor
asian woman white manLove is what joins
Love is what flows
Love is what counts
Love is what grows
Love is what’s known.
Love is all around
Love is all about
Love is all we ask
Love is all we give
Love is all I have.
Love wants nothing
Love needs nothing
Love misses nothing
Love excludes nothing
Love is what this is all about.

by

Take Someone’s Breath Away

Love…
…makes the bearer both stronger and weaker. Strength comes in knowing someone stands behind ready to catch you when you fall. Weakness arrives in accepting the one loved might leave you to fall hard without them. Only true love makes such risk and paradox worth facing.

Taken from “My Sister’s Keeper” by Joei Picoult
couples-kissing- Love_large EDITTrue love
is felonious…
You take
someone’s
breath away…
You rob them
of the ability
to utter
a single word…
You steal a heart.

by

What Is Essential

Love…
…is in my heart; a smoldering glow keeps me warmer than occasional leaping flames. Loving in peace is richer than passion alone. Harmony in my heart is healthier than turbulence of a jagged love.

French aristocrat, writer, poet, and aviatorAntoine De Saint-Exupery
And now here
is my secret,
a very simple secret;
it is only with the heart
that one
can see rightly,
what is essential
is invisible to the eye.

by

Strength In What Remains

Love…
…cares not that we come from different places, that our life experience has been different or that we have decades of living already behind us. What matters is how we are alike, what we might share and the amount of life left to be lived in front of us.

English romantic and philosophical poet William Wordsworth
That though the radiance
which was once so bright
be now forever taken
from my sight.
Though nothing
can bring back the hour
of splendor in the grass;
glory in the flower.
We will grieve not,
rather find strength
in what remains behind.