And if I Were There, I Would Hold You and Not Say Anything
It is not enough that we love.
It is not enough to hold each other
when shadows multiply.
Then there is always fate.
And then there is always law.
I travel inside your heart and hear weeping.
You let me walk in your gardens of hope
and I watch the flowers fail.
Sometimes rain refuses to come.
Sometimes sun is too much with us.
And sometimes it’s just not enough
that we planted a seed and tended it daily
and weeded, fertilized and prayed.
The seedling might die anyway.
And we might never know why.
But if we don’t grow flowers,
thorns come in.
And when we don’t grow gardens,
we build prisons.
It is not enough that we love,
and we must love anyway.
And when it is cold, we must hold each other.
And when it is time, we must let go.
And when shadows come in,
I will not run from your sorrow.
I will travel with you as far as you let me,
I will walk with you as long as you go.
I will hold your hand, knowing it isn’t enough.
And when it rains I will dance in your puddles.
I will dance with you on your fallen blooms,
I will dance with you in your dimming light.
And when night swallows us with its cold, cold tongues
I will dance with you in the prisons we build.
And listen to me: be awake.
All around us, blessings drop like meteors
and fires escape their rings.
And wanting to help is the secret cup
that spills pleasure and purpose and salve.
And love, I know, is not enough,
but love is what we have.