I was recently asked to officiate a dear friend's wedding. To honor this request I began a study on Love. For months I read ancient spiritual texts, memorized poetry from Eastern and Western cultures, and made "love" the topic of conversation.
During this love-study I interviewed friends and family, neighboring passengers on flights, and passerby. I fielded stories of passion, purpose and partnership, broken hearts and devastation, collecting countless stories of romance, grief and regret.
As the wedding day approached I began to coalesce these learnings. One morning this poem made its way to the page with a certain insistence about love's faithfulness, demanding that love does abide.
Abide : transitive verb
to bear patiently : TOLERATE
to endure without yielding : WITHSTAND
to wait for : AWAIT
to accept without objection : ACCEPT
A Stubborn Old Thing
Love stays
Love remains
Love abides
Even when we try to hide
Storing our shame somewhere out of sight
Even when we fear its light
Love remains
That’s its name
Since the beginning of time
And in the bitterest of ends
When we make amends
Do the hurting and are hurt my friends
When loved ones leave
When life brings us to our knees
So much pain we cannot see
Love abides
Surrounds us on all sides
When we are drowning
It carries us to the shore
Determined that we are meant for more
And here is where life and Love
must marry
In your heart Love planted a seed
to carry
It’s been there all the while
Watered by a child’s smile
Though weeds of life try to choke
Love is growing up that seed
of hope
Love hopes
That’s is most favorite action
Brings love tremendous satisfaction
The audacity to hope in the face of despair
I’m telling Love ain’t going nowhere
Dipped its pen in hope to write your story
To teach you of Love’s future glory
Trust me there is no where you can hide
Because Love demands to stay right by your side
That’s its nature, it’s a stubborn old thing
Grown determined to abide through all of life’s stings
Finds you downcast and lifts you upon its wings
Relentlessly mending your broken heart’s strings
Love has promised you a future and a hope
Love abides
When you think you can no longer cope
Love abides
At the end of your rope
Love abides
Given up faith in tomorrow’s promise
No way you can harness
The means to believe in one more chance
No longer willing to get up and do this dance
It’s right then, when your vision ain’t quite clear
Yes my dear, that’s when Love has drawn near
Love abides