She said, "I feel such a need for love, but it seems so idealistic, so abstract, so I find it hard to relate to the idea." The Sage said, "The idea is a faint shadow. Love is presence ... the Presence. The idea of water never has quenched thirst. Only love satisfies love."
*Brian K. Wilcox. "Meetings with an Anonymous Sage."
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Rumi (Sufi, 13th Century) -
Let Love, the water of life, flow through our veins.
Let a Love-drunk mirror steeped in the wine of dawn translate night.
You who pour the wine,
put the cup of oneness in my hand and let me drink from it until I can't imagine separation.
Love, you are the archer. My mind is your prey. Carry my heart and make my existence your bullseye.
*Rumi. Gold. Trans. Haleh Liza Gafori.
I have posted this poem to invite you to read it slowly several times, allowing quiet time between each reading. After a third time, reflect on what the verse "says" to you.
*Brian's book, An Ache for Union: Poems on Oneness with God through Love, can be ordered through major online booksellers or the publisher AuthorHouse.