13 February 2019

Love Is the Present: Revised




They are the chosen ones
who have surrendered.
~Rumi

I forget if I don’t take notes.  
Two thoughts escaped an hour ago, before I found
paper and pen. They’re gone. 

This may be the beginning
of living in the present—of living precisely
now, without drifting into the past.

When my elderly librarian friend
found this present, she beamed in smiles
that embraced me with her inner fire.

I’d bring a chair and the two books she’d kept
to her bedside. After a moment of silence, I'd ask
“What would you like to hear?”  

And she’d laugh, “It doesn’t matter.” She’d say,
“I hear as if for the first time, and fall
in love again.”  In the now.

I can’t imagine not missing the past,
that vast depository of  lessons
I carry.  So much weight.

I spend time writing, sorting and divesting
to free my soul. What books will I—will you—
keep as companions for the road?

💟💟💟💟💟

“But you don’t believe in staying in the present, and you don’t believe in surrender.”
“Believe, know.  What do they mean?  Without resisting, we lose perspective.  Without the past, we cannot learn from our mistakes.  But what if the grass truly is greener on the other side?  Surrendering to the love of God has made my life more tolerable.  What could drifting in the present do?  Could every impression be new?  Could every meeting have unlimited possibility?”  Could love be the present?


source

They are the chosen ones
who have surrendered.
Once they were particles of light

now they are the radiant sun. 
~Rumi 


I forget if I don’t take notes. Two thoughts escaped
an hour ago, before I found paper and pen. They’re gone.

This may be the beginning of living in the present.
O! To live precisely now, without drifting into the past!

When my elderly librarian friend found this present,
she beamed in smiles that embraced me with her inner fire.

I pulled a chair and a treasured few books over to her.
After our moment of silence, I asked “What should I read?”

And she laughed. “Read anything,” she glowed. “I hear it as if
for the first time, and fall in love over again.” O! Now.

I spend time writing, sorting and divesting to free my soul.
What books will I—will you—keep as companions for the road?




A Testament of Devotion
source


For Sumana's prompt

Poets United Midweek Motif ~ Love



My blog poems are rough drafts.
Please respect my copyright. 

© 2019 Susan L. Chast


16 comments:

  1. Love is the present, indeed. This precise moment of seeing and hearing each other, of silence observed together, of...

    I love this love you present here. For me, it captures a wonderful companionship.

    ReplyDelete
  2. The laughter, the glowing, the understanding between friends does it for me. It's warm, it's growing, it's delicious... it's love.

    ReplyDelete
  3. My short term memory is non-existent. My sister says I only need ONE book and ONE movie. The funny thing is now she is starting to forget too and we have hilarious conversations about "that movie...you know that girl.........I cant remember what it was about, but it was REALLY GOOD!" Thankfully, we have a sense of humour. LOL.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I hear it as if
    for the first time, and fall in love over again.” O! Now.
    Love it and I can feel the connection of shared love

    ReplyDelete
  5. I love the beautiful message in this Susan. Lovely!!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Absolutely, love the present.

    ReplyDelete
  7. This is absolutely profound and so beautiful.
    Thanks for dropping by my blog today Susan

    much ✿ܓlove

    ReplyDelete
  8. And love is friendship. And love is kindness. And love is beautiful books.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I have my father's copy of A Testament of Devotion: love passed down...

    ReplyDelete
  10. Living in the moment is best.Love is giving and kindness.Networking should never be confused with friendship.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Oh I can totally relate to this- I have completely forgotten almost a full poem that was in my head last evening. And yes there is a true love of books! A real thing! I would keep Shahid Ali and Ramanujan for every road!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Love is just about everywhere. The fortunate ones find them; sometimes in a friend's smile, sometimes in a forever companion, may be a book or anything, anyone. Beautiful, Susan.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Never wait until tomorrow for anything. Live and love your life now for there will always something you really want to do before....

    ReplyDelete
  14. this is so good to read...understanding is that core part...I wonder which book i will keep..!

    ReplyDelete
  15. A beautiful witness to friendship, reading and love! :)

    ReplyDelete
  16. Wonderful tribute to a shared love of reading and books!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for visiting my blog!