Alone with Love

In my aloneness,
I said to my heart,
“Can I ever find love again?”
And my heart replied,
“Love is not found like a lost purse
Dropped by the wayside with treasure in it.
Neither can you seek it
As you would
A longed for purchase in a store.
Love already exists,
As the kernel of your being.
You do not find love
In someone else,
But in yourself.
If it has been absent,
It is because events
Have led you to close
The windows of your soul,
And forbid its light to shine.
The love you seek,
Is the recognition of the light,
Shining from someone else.”
But the troubled waters of past loves
Led me to seek the wisdom
Of my heart again.
And in my concern,
I asked my heart,
“Love is such an uncertainty.
How shall I know when I have met
Someone with whom
I can find the giving
And the receiving,
Of each other’s needs?”
Quietly my heart replied,
“Where there is love,
Two people grow together,
Without effort.
Where there is no love,
People grow apart.
Only the dependencies
Pushed upon us by our pains,
Our jealousies,
And our poverty,
Hold us in a relationship
Where love has died.”

Copyright ©2001 Tony Crisp