~Love, Lover, Beloved~
.
Love
What is Love?
There was a time
When I believed
.
It was your love
I wanted
To be loved
For who I am
.
Then I grew
And I thought
It was my Love
That was needed
.
To give
And give
And give
Of all I had and was
.
Then I grew
And Love
Became painful
And I learnt
.
That what I understood
Was Love
Was not
Love at all
.
But words
Stories
Beliefs
Passed down
.
Across the ages
Wisdom
Of the elders
Who
.
Gave of the best
Of their times
For their people
In response
.
To particular
Moments
In our shared
Story
.
I questioned
These words
Beliefs
Stories
.
It was hard
Stripped me bare
Raw
Back to innocence
.
I know nothing
Now of Love
Only that
What I practised
.
What passed
For Love
Was not Love
But illusion
.
I asked
To know
What Love is
To experience this Love
.
And was sent
Painful moment
After painful moment
Of painful experience
.
Till one day
I understood
That it is only
When we are most
.
Vulnerable
That we can know
What it is
To be beloved
.
And our stories
Have us fight
To deny
Its existence
.
We writhe
We squirm
We wriggle out
Of the sensations
.
Of being
Vulnerable
It is just too
Much
.
For ones
Whose story collection
Teach that to give
Is good
.
But tell me this
If there is to be a giver
Is a receiver also
Not needed
.
And if to give
Is good
Then how can to receive
Be bad
.
Can there be
A rainbow
Without sun
And rain
.
Can there be
A tree
Without air
And earth
.
Can there be
A gift
Without a giver
And a receiver
.
Can there be
Love
Without a Lover
And a Beloved?
.
Can you be
A giver
And a receiver
In your life?
.
Can you be
A Lover
And a Beloved
In your life?
.
For gifts
Cannot be
Without receivers
To receive
.
And Love
Cannot exist
Without a Beloved
To feel it
.
In compassion and tears
In passion and joy
In friendship and mirth
In recognition and acceptance
.
Lovers
Cannot be
If first
The beloved
.
Does not show
Their need
Bare their soul
In all its splendour
.
Weakness
Fear
Vulnerability
And capacity
.
To receive
Then Love
Can show itself
When the beloved is ready
.
When a life lived
Has carved
Such a map
Upon our being
.
Then we finally
Surrender
And let
Love in
.
This poem was inspired by:
“And what greater service shall there be, than that which lies in the courage and the confidence, nay the charity, of receiving?” Kahil Gibran