Romance

Quest for the Rose- The Kiss

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She took my hand and led me down a path strewn with fresh fallen leaves

Beautiful waves of blonde curls adorned her regal head

The fragrance of fall followed after her

There was a twinkle in her green eyes reflecting the setting sun and the intent of her heart

But I did not miss the deeper layers there, hidden within the flecks of chocolate brown

Like a finely cut gem the glory of her eyes were found in their depths

A portal, a door, an entrance there at her core

Pouty lips pursed with the hint of a grin at their corners

Hopeful yet cautious, willing to give but not to be subjugated

Wild, dangerous, powerful was her beauty

Only the true warrior might find the way

She adorned in the Celtic tradition, blonde hair braided, scarfs protect against the cold

Her warm hand steady as she led me silently down paths I have never trod

She had spoken of a rose, a chalice which holds an elixir granting one eternal life

Not eternity in the pedestrian use which seeks a state of unending time

But rather that existence where all moments become one and makes time irrelevant

Where the deep Soul is quickened, where energy’s frequency transforms matter into spirit

Spirit into matter, where flesh mind and feelings are changed and rearranged, broken and remade

Where the Incarnation again walks the earth in worship and praise and thunders it’s hallelujah

Together we sought this sacred mound using the signs she had been given

She knew the way if I could but follow, learning with each step to walk the path

I am slow of wit and the lessons were sometimes pressed from me like fruit under a wheel

Sweetness made strong and the lees left behind but only after the ferment and the stillness

She guided me to a fine alabaster column which watched over a pool at its base

Here I learned to listen, to sense, the feel the heartbeat of the land

She led me up the mountain pass where we lingered at the summit nursing the weariness

Renewing ourselves, finding new strength and motivation to reach our goal

We found ourselves more in sync and in rhythm, increasingly aware of the strength and the pounding pulse of the place

As we made our way down the mountains and into the gently curving flatlands, instinct taught us the geography

Our steps were sure, firm here, lighter there, as need be

Our growing anticipation moved us toward the mound and the hopes held hidden there within the valley

As we neared the place, breathless from exertion and anticipation, we slowed our movements

Deliberate, gentle our steps as we entered the valley

The muted light required touch to proceed if we were to find our way to eternity’s passage

The exploration continued until, there behind a slightly parted curtain of the finest silk the Rose was revealed

Trembling, I gazed, pulse rushing, pounding in my ears

I beheld a flower with moist petals glistening with the light from my eyes

I was humbled and filled with adoration, with love

I brought the flower to my lips and as I did I felt the place begin to quake, a storm raged

Thunder, lighting, tempest winds blew, yet my kiss was true and held till the elixir washed over me

To describe what happened after would be to desecrate that holy ground for it was beyond words

And if one would know they must go find the thing for themselves, words would profane the sacred

They must step away from the common and join the quest

Seek the Grail cup and give themselves fully in both seeking and in the finding

And there one will discover themselves in the Other and the other already inhabiting them

She held me there out of time till the trembling stilled, there was only quiet rest

We breathed in and out, slow, long, and deeply, remembering that which we had always known

And the waves of time finally eroded the sand walls and called us back to the place from which we had come

She smiled and took my hand as I led her Home

To have been found worthy humbled me, for it was from no virtue I possessed

But only by and through Her grace was is made so

What’s the Difference (Audio)

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Image result for image pebble falling through water

Good morning my Soul, my Beloved

I have a question for you
It was put to me, now I lay it at Your beautiful feet
In quiet expectation and trust I await Your response

From my lips to Your heart I cast it
“What is the difference?”
Does it matter
What does it mean
And like a pebble it breaks the surface of the Deep
Fluttering, slowly sinking, falling into the silent Unknown

Quiet, unmoving I remain
The surface of the water now still, a mirror
I gaze un-blinking into Her eyes
Green, brown, and golden windows
Falling like the pebble I sink into the Unknowing
Silence . . . Senses forsaken

“Nothing . . . and Everything,” She says
You have given all and you have also received back
Yet I needed not
You have scaled the heights of the exquisite and ridden on its golden light
And you have been flayed and spilled out by grief too terrible for words
But I am here
You have sought Me in exotic far off places and the adventure it brought
Even in the familiar paths within your reach your steps sought Me out
I never moved
You have dreamed, and built, and created magical things
And you have seen it all laid low in the dust
Yet I remain
You have chased the ancient knowledge, gathering together secrets of the Ages
But in the end only learned of your ignorance
I have watched it all

You ask what is the difference
I tell you there is none
The meaning you seek is fleeting like the Spring flowers
What matters is still beyond your comprehension
You ask what is the difference
I tell you all is changed
You have come to Me
You now sit by My still waters
You know the I Am
We are and shall ever be – One

So go my Love, seek, climb, create, and learn
Explore the world of the senses, the playground of the body and the mind
Thrill yourself with new adventure, people, and places
Walk the barren paths of solitude and grief
Exult in your victories and feel the pain of your failure

Fear not, cast it away from you
You are mine and I am Yours
My Love for you is all that has ever really mattered

To: The Muse – The Poet (Audio)

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In the moments just before ink marks the page I know that words will fall short.  For who could capture Her with mere paper and ink?  But I am compelled to try hoping that my attempt, though clumsy and sophomoric, may in some small way reflect back  the beauty that I have recognized in Her.

She is new to me, yet I have known her forever.  Even so I have just begun to experience, to comprehend  Her.  She has captured my attention and stirred longings thought bruised beyond rising.  It is now Her face I seek, Her call that I await.  And in the between times I remember, I wonder, I muse.

I remember Her form, Her fragrance, the way She fits my body.  I wonder how it is that she has so easily assumed this place with me.  I muse about the meaning of this dance begun between she and I.

With Me she is familiar.  She is bold but not brazen.  Her confidence is that of assumed kinship and intimacy.  How is it that She feels like Home?  How is it that a raging passion and peaceful sweet rest can co-exist?

She is dainty yet powerful.  I have watched a dull room energized at Her approach.  Men straighten themselves in hopeful anticipation of Her glance or smile, grateful for any small attention.  Women appraise Her, hoping for an ally, dreading competition with Her light.

Her smile is a magic thing.  It is infectious and sensual.  Her mouth shaped in anger is pouty and full beneath a furrowed brow.

Her movement is fluid and natural as a young doe.  She is at ease and alert.  She is finely wrought and utterly feminine, Her spirit at home in Her flesh.

To be near Her awakens slumbering passion.  To be apart calls forth the Poet, the Bard.  She now has claimed Her place in His story.  She is now set apart.  Sleeping Beauty can now awaken, at least for the moments that the Poet can guard Her heart.

But harken to me!  It is a dangerous thing to call forth the Poet and awaken the Princess.  The story will unfold with many unseen twists and turns.  Exquisite will be the rapture.  Exquisite will be the torment.  Yet that is the nature of the play.  Both comedy and tragedy are required.  Such things are always risky.  But perhaps the Poet and his Muse can create between them a place where the songs can live.

The Search for You (Part 2)- Audio

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I searched for you again today.
I strained to find you amidst the chaos of a world seething with disappointment, battered dreams, and fragile hopes.
Millions of souls crying out for the answer to their hearts’ deepest longings.

I looked down the well-worn paths, the familiar places where I’ve sought you before.

Nature’s beauty was dulled.
The crisp cool air on my face did not quicken my senses as before.
It was only cold.
The golden red light of the sunset did not dazzle me with its splendor.
The orb hung in only two dimensions, flat against the dull sky.
It only moved me to squint the brazen light from my eyes.

The sounds and rhythms of life around me seemed out of tune and dissonant with my pattern.
I felt a stranger to the world.
Out of place.
Out of joint.

The faces, the touch, the voices of friends and loved ones did not reach me.
They seemed only to intrude upon my search.
Words of love, comfort, even humor, irritated and sparked anger hidden beneath my smile.

Exhausted, hope failing, desperate for you.
Weeping from the anguish of my bitter longing.
Prostrate, face to the earth, search ended – unfulfilled.

At the end of my search, at the end of one last bitter breath, after one final look outward,

I paused –

Stillness

My eyes sought a new path.
I slowly shifted my gaze.
As my eyes turned inward I was startled to discover your presence.
You were there where you have always been.
The wellspring of my heart was flooded with joy as I was filled with awareness of you.
You are a part of me, and I you.
I knew that which I have always known.
Nothing, no obstacle, no circumstance can separate me from you and you from me.
We exist together out of time.
We are eternal.
You and I will be always, even to the ends of the earth.

I found you today.

I searched for You today (Audio)

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I searched for you today.
Upon awakening I became aware of how unfinished I am without you.

I searched for you today.
From everywhere and nowhere you beckoned me.
You called for my attention – No you demanded it.

I searched for you today.
Sometimes light and undefined, sometimes as a poignant ache or thrill, all of my senses experienced your call.

I searched for you today.
For your call presumed upon all thought, movement, and experience.
It interrupted and reminded me that all happiness is fleeting without you.

I searched for you today.
I thought I saw you once as the morning sun broke through a dull grey/white bank of clouds.
For a second of a second you were near me – and then gone.

I searched for you today.
I thought I heard your voice whisper my name, calling me from my place across the sea.
I turned and found only the wind and waves crashing across the jetty.

I searched for you today.
I reviewed cataloged memories, testing them, observing the many facets of my experience of you.  Believing that you will never leave me or forsake me.

I searched for you today.
Sometimes frantic, sometimes at rest, but always watchful for signs of your presence.

I searched for you today.
I saw the silver/white shimmer of the moonlight on the waves forming an other-worldly highway across the water to the place where you are.

I searched for you today.
Within a myriad of thoughts, experiences, and sensations you were sought.

The gentle intimacy between a father and his daughter.

A fragrance which awakens the senses.

A beautiful strain of music which stirs the soul.
Touch, taste, textures, sounds, sights, aromas, all hint at beauty consummated.

They all hint, beckon, and remind me of you.

I searched for you today.