Defining Love

Defining Love takes some doing! What is love? How does it work? When do you find it? Where does it come from? Who does it touch? How do you answer these eternal questions?

The following is an anonymous poem, touching on these many questions. It was read by our son at our daughter’s wedding:

“Who am I?

Some say I can fly on the wind … yet I have no wings

You may find me on the open sea … though I cannot swim

Perhaps you feel my warmth on frosted nights … despite my having no flame.”

You cannot see me

“I am the star twinkle in your child’s eyes

And there I am, in the magic of a kiss

Look, I am hidden in the lines on your mother’s face

Undoubtedly, you may know me as the champion who guards your home …

and still …”

Puzzling

“Some say I am as strong as steel … yet fragile as tears

There are those who never ever search for me … yet I’m always near

At times, people say I die in loss and grief … yet I am endless.”

True

“Though you cannot hear me

I embrace the cries of newborn babies

And I am in the blessings of grandmothers

Woven, also, into the whispers of passion

Dancing on the laughter of children … and still …”

Complex

“I can be a fair flower … yet also the seed

Though some have little faith in me … I ever trust in them

It’s possible that I cure the ill … assuredly I nourish the soul.”

Feeling

“And though you cannot touch me

I am the gentle handwork of the kind

And especially, the glorious hug of a child

There I am in the fingertips caressing your cheek at night

Here … Now … I am LOVE”

You Can’t Stop Love

Just as you cannot command the tides, or the sunrise or the weather, you cannot command Love. Over time, you learn that you can’t stop Love – from coming or going. No, you can’t make someone love you, nor keep someone from loving you.

You never know from where Love comes – or where it can go.

Intensely boundless and flowing, Love draws no lines on a map.