Love Poem
by Kathleen Raine
Yours is the face that the earth turns to me.
Continuous beyond its human features lie
The mountain forms that rest against the sky.
With your eyes, the reflecting rainbow, the sun's light
See me; forest and flowers, bird and beast
Know and hold me forever in the world's thought,
Creation's deep untroubled retrospect.
When your hand touches mine, it is the earth
That takes me - the deep grass,
And rocks and rivers; the green graves,
And children still unborn, and ancestors,
In love passed down from hand to hand from God.
Your love comes from the creation of the world,
From those paternal fingers, streaming through the clouds
That break with light the surface of the sea.
Here, where I trace your body with my hand,
Love's presence has no end;
For these, your arms that hold me, are the world's.
In us, the continents, clouds and oceans meet
Our arbitrary selves, extensive with the night,
Lost, in the heart's worship, and the body's sleep.
"Art is a flower which opens freely, outside of all rules." -Odilon Redon
This week, I had the idea to write a post about the man behind my success as a human being - my husband, Tim. Then I became a horrendous nag, griping about the state of our living room floor (its blond beams perpetually under a foot of hair, thanks to our generous border collie / shepherd). In addition to making me feel like a real shithead, my nagging reminded me once again how much Tim puts up with / ignores / laughs off - and for this, I'd like to give the kid a shout-out.
I'm not saying I'm an unholy beast to get along with, or that Tim is an angel, or anything like that. But often when I think about the things I do that take great courage, I know that my ability to leap comes from the stability that my life with Tim provides me. I have been known to call him the more practical one in the relationship, but the truth is, he is the romantic, too, and an incredible source of adventure in our lives.
The thing that stands out to me, however, is how much he believes in my strength, and freedom. And this is something every man should get credit for - because honoring wild beauty in a woman is deep medicine for all of us.
So...to a man who builds a home with me every day, and reminds me always to make one first in my heart. To my husband, Tim (aka: Mr. Putt-Putt).
Kara
