Good Dreams

I have been pondering lately if I am strong enough to love with no expectation of love returned.

Can I give myself to another, in order to benefit them alone, and not out of selfish pursuit of gain and affirmation? Could I love someone unlovely because the centre of their being is worth it?

I pray that when I find you, I will have the courage to do it. I pray that I will know, and you will know, and we will find so much joy in the knowing. You will smile at me and I'll echo it back to you, and we will revel in loving each other. We will spend a day on the couch in the living room, your head in my lap, and I will touch your hair as we talk about dreams and technology and Fleet Foxes. I will love the sum of you as you pursue the core of me. And when all of the chasing is through, we will be content to be still together, to sit side-by-side and breathe the same air.

Your love will be joy to me, and I pray that my love will inspire and encourage you, strengthen your heart and even greater still, remind you that I am not enough. I pray that my love will show you that love from our Father springs forth eternal, and it's His love that leaves us all breathless.

The Owl and the Tanager

Foolish I pinned

My hopes on you

Foolishly they remain

Sight unseen, I'm placing bets

Waging my funds on your heart

Before our hands touched

Can I know

Before knowing you?

Can I love before sitting shoulder-to-shoulder

tense as we feel the current running through the thin cloth of our sweaters?

Can I place my heart before you to accept

Before our eyes meet, lips met?