Would That Our Love
Would that our love were constant as the Sun,
Who though He needs his daily rest too,
And slips under the cover of earth’s horizon
To find such bliss as He can without us
Always in his sight, still rises to greet us,
With each new dawn, as warm as ever.
And if He did not, in fact, miss us in slumber,
Never has He seemed piqued by our absence,
Always ready to embrace us fully,
Nothing between our shared warmth,
(Though we hardly measure up to His),
But imagination, light, and, of course,
Ninety three million miles of void.
For this gift though I am grateful,
For otherwise, I fear, His ardor,
Would fully cook my goose! (1)
As always though, He is a lover,
Who I can count on to pay attention
To the smallest detail and who would
Always 'love my dog' (2) too, if I had one.
In comparison with such light, love,
I fear we both fare quite badly,
As more passive reflectors of His love, at best,
We both have our phases like the moon,
Whose light, though welcome in Sun’s absence
Scarcely measures up in its generosity or warmth
To that which the Sun gives all.
Let us aspire more then to His largess,
And if we never measure up fully
To His example, still let us share our warmth,
Our abundance with others, as Grace allows,
Living always in the spirit of His Love.
Brian Johnston
Sept. 6, 2014
Poet's Notes:
(1) 'your goose is cooked' means that you are 'shot down' (like a bird in flight), that you are the same as dead in someone's eyes, that you are a terrible failure in some way.
(2) 'Love me, Love my dog' means that if you really love me your love must include all those I love as well.
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