Love Poem: Devoted, Choosing To Hold
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Written by: Sally Eslinger

Devoted, Choosing To Hold

***  Devoted, Choosing  to Hold ***

Engaged
By your spirit; 
My heart to yours; my heart’s hoping ~
Choosing,
Not that long after we met.  
Completely to embrace you.
And you,
Losing your heart to me,  choosing
To  commit  yourself to a  “hand-full”
     (in terms of the creative personality
          as defined by experts**).

You, 
from a southern town;
a male; “ minister’s kid;”
curious about outer-space;
quiet; student; survivor; an
admirable man; introvert, but 
socially generous and well-liked; 
an engineer;  brother of five; fan of
blues/jazz; witty; reader; hard-worker;
compassionate; empathetic;
politically/socially concerned; 
fond of cats; caregiver.
And so,

Beloved, 
I suspect you 
Took more
Into your hands and heart ~ likely
More than you could imagine, for
	I am nearly your opposite:
		
female/                 extrovert/              Christian mystic/   
              poet/                         artist/        
reader/                    talkative/                   teacher/  
           sibling of one/                survivor/
 - former                       - former            - politically/socially
 ballerina/              Cc   1970’s hippie            concerned/
       quick to sing but not always in tune/
now need 24/7 care due to physical illness/   quick to laugh/
easy to weep/ compassionate/ empathetic/ 
from densely urban north/ loves dogs.
       
Devoted,
Here, loving
We live; sharing 
Our full hearts
And this day,
Into tomorrow,
Giving thanks to Abba 
For blessings, and for
Inspiring this love
That holds us so
Well together.


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* notes — experts: Will Durant, Colin McGinn, Hildegard of Bingen,
 Richard Rohr,  Fr. Thomas Merton, Rabbi Rami Shapiro, 
,Makoto Fujtimmurgay
ALSO!……when searching for the FORM for this poem, I looked for “experimental” or “avant-garde” but neither is on the list. .
(c) sally young eslinger 10/10/22
Thanks be to God!