THE AGONY AND ECSTASY OF LOVE ENCHANTMENTS

Suite of Poems

THE AGONY and ECSTASY of LOVE ENCHANTMENTS

Detail of Altarpiece of Santa Maria Dei Fossi by Pinturicchio (1454-1513)

Love is always an entanglement that takes time and teaches us patience and understanding of others. We change with the emotions, whether it be the devotion to, and the dependence of, a child or dealing with the emotions between siblings. We can call upon all the powers of the soul, of which, I was told there are eight powers, some of the sacred teachings of Raja Yoga, having studied it with Dadi Janki, a renowned wisdom teacher with the Brahma Kumaris. These powers are for our spiritual journey but also wonderful teachings for family life and for healing in this changing world. Even if just one of these powers is accomplished, the others follow suit.

1. The Power of Tolerance: The image is a child kicking a mango tree and the tree still gives the child mangoes. To tolerate is to be able to manage all situations with a positive attitude and not be affected by them.

2. The Power to Face: The small light of a candle is enough to turn away the lion, meaning if we have enough light and love within we can face anything with confidence and be able to resolve any situation calmly..

3. The Power to Withdraw: The image of a turtle. The turle withdraws the head into the shell temporarily avoiding conflict, or withdraws into hibernation for winter if the conditions are harsh. To withdraw is also the ability to meditate, to go within to contemplate, and to temporarily disengage from the world around us.

4. The Power to Co-operate: Many hands can shift the mountain. If we use wisdom and work together we can achieve goals faster and more efficiently in, and with, the service or servicing of others, not to allow ego to take over regardless but to be humble and have kindness.

5. The Power to Discriminate and Discern: The swan picks the pearls from amongst the pebbles. This is choosing only that which is good for the soul, and not wasting time on wasteful pursuits, to differentiate what is true and what is false.

6. The Power of Accommodation: As the river adapts on its course to the sea, and the salmon adapts from fresh water to salt water, so must we have the ability to adapt to different situations and to others, to be able to accept the ideas and desires that others may have, and work with them accordingly. Knowing how to share.

7. The Power to Judge. The image is the pair of weighing scales. To weigh up what is fair in life. This is not to pass judgement on others but to assess situations and decide what is right and what is wrong. We must have the power to judge ourselves and change accordingly.

8. The Power to Pack Up. The image of a bedroll. To be forever ready if one needs to move ahead. Being able to bring things to an end easily. It may be the ending of an obsession or addiction. It is the need to stop negativity in words and actions instantly, to seize the power of change.

These are some of the poems written about the Agony and Ecstasy of Love Enchantments, because all emotions have surges of power to rise and fall like the tides. A couple of them one may think of as Love Spells, one of them being written as a meditation to bring someone out of a coma. I have personally witnessed music and love being capable of this. A child came out of a coma after hearing Robin sing Saved By The Bell. Robin himself came out of a coma after our son R-J played the Confutatis from the Titanic Requiem they had composed together. We had another three weeks with him before he left the body. Music and words can play a part in quelling many situations. We heard of an angry demonstration that turned into a street party of dancing and singing in the Philippines many years ago when they played Bee Gees’ music on loudspeakers to the crowd.

Human Love has many twists and turns, but Divine Love lasts for ever. These are some of the poems of Love:

I BEAR

I bear no stain of blood spilled, yet I know I have been a willing sacrifice. I bear no trace of pierced heart, yet I know I have been subject to arrows of sweet vice. I bear no scars of battle fight, yet I know I have been through wars of day and night.

SONG

A song of gentle bird follows you wherever you may go, And in that lull of song, my heart is soothed,
The assembly of bright beings is raised in triumph around you, And in their presence I am humbled and moved.

A circlet of light adorns your brow and crowns you with golden hue, And in that splendour, I bathe in reverence of being.
The hosts in mystic murmur whisper through you in ancient tongues, And in their luring, my mind grows still and I am full with seeing.

A lilt as soft as breath sounds the flute of laughter through you,
And in that offering of sweet song my soul is uplifted.
The celestial angels give praise in your presence and your absence, And in their adoration of you, I am as one favoured and gifted.

DARK POOL

In the deepest darkest glen of black waters, I throw off my shield, gleaming bright in the lapping pool of bracken, the ripples creeping out, out into the night. No need for loss of victory if I have given up the fight, and no noble arms to defend me now. Vanquished only by my own bleeding heart, lacking the cloak of love, weeping and crying out, out into the night.

PAIN

Let me not kill the art of love and all its treasure, Nor smite the heart of one who gives me pleasure. I cannot bear the pain reflected in sea-brushed eyes,
Nor watch the hard stonewall of fear and anguish rise.  

I MISS YOU...

In the depths of the night, I miss you,
In the secret dark I miss you,
In the blackest of black I miss you.
My belly is hollowed deep, my heart astray,
My eyes unseeing, words gone from my tongue, I miss you with all my being.

In the light of the dawning day, I miss you,
In the brightness of noon I miss you,
In the sway of my body I miss you.
My mind pines a calling for you, my thoughts untold,

My ears deaf to all others, music gone from my world, I miss you with all my soul.  

UNDER THE SHADE

Under the shade of the night, I draw over me the blanket of stars and sleep by the hearth of the full moon. I nest in the embrace of the great earth-roots, all memory falling away, all dreams gone too soon. Dearest of all, be with me in your shrine of deep sleep, be with me when I awaken, let me rest gently in your keep, all else gone but not forsaken.

SEARCHING FOR

I call out in the night, sweet words upon my breath, and rise to find you, but you are not there.
I reach into the dark, seeking to draw you to me, and beg softly for your strength, but you are not there.

I tremble in the black, hushed in your absence, and long for whispered love, but you are not there. Yet, soul-deep in the cavern of my mind, flamed with cherished heart, I pull you to me, and know you are there.

January  

IN THE STILL BOUGH

In the still bough of reasoning thought, when the rivers of notion meander,
Let not the mind wander into woe or despair, but instead, remain in the pod of bliss, without sorrow, no worries, no care.
In the deepest dark of the barren season, when the shadows of motion are gone,
Let there be no sad song for those departed and missing, but instead, praise for the turning of time, for the newly arisen and rare.
In the endurance of ceaseless war, when the slavery of devotion runs rife,
Let not the surrender of life give way to fear and repression, but instead, be valued for its unveiled mercy, and courage to fare.

ELEMENTS OF LOVE

The sun has sought you out on my behalf to warm your heart, The gentle breeze has taken heed and softly soothes your brow, The called mist has fallen lightly upon your hair in favoured kiss,
And I have begged the land to lay soft the lane beneath your feet.
The blackbird has heard my plea and sings to grace your presence, And the flowers have obeyed giving rise to beauty for your eyes. Bidden trees have borne fruits for you to find their hidden taste,
And I pine silently alone, knowing only time will take us home.  

LONGING, BUT LONGING

The silver lake smiles in the wild gap of no name, where mountains rise high to mingle with sky, and there am I, in wistful thought, longing, but longing to see you again. The brown river winds and weeps through the valley, where the flame of the sun steeps the heart of stone, and there am I, far away and apart, longing, but longing to be back home.
The bright lamp of the moon burns long through the night, when dew lightly falls like tears from my eyes, and there am I, in deep dreams and soft sighs, longing, but longing for the dawn to arise.

The faint whisper of wind soughs through the boughs, when the woodland is dark and the lark sings her song, and there am I, where I can never belong, longing, but longing to right all the wrong.
The pulse of this soul mingles deeply with yours, and your name burns sweetly on the crest of my lips, and there am I, turning strife from my life, with these sips of bliss, longing, but longing for the best to exist.

KEEP SAFE SPELL

She, who touches the depth of the ocean with her eyes,
She, who feels the pulse of the seas with her breast,
She, who holds the power of the waves with her mind,
Keep in good stead the one who traverses the waters of the Earth.

She, who touches the celestial stars with her thoughts,
She, who soars through the air above with wings of her love,
She, who is steeped with the light of the sun and the moon,
Keep in good stead the one who traverses the winds of the Earth.

She, who reaches the furthest corners of the world with her breath, She, who conquers all rock and stone with her heart,
She, who binds the one and forges the metals with her strength,

Keep in good stead the one who traverses the lands of the Earth.

She, who reaches the vast portals of space and beyond,
She, who encompasses the fiery heavens with godly embrace,
She, who steers all souls safely to their chosen destiny,
Keep in good stead the one who traverses the hearths of the Earth.

TELL THE EARTH

The mouth of the sea feeds upon the delicate shore of silver sand,

Silently gorging the night away,
Swilling down the foam of briny beer,
Roaming the coasts for hidden delights,

And I am here alone,
Whispering my secrets in the shell-ear of the wind,
To take my missives across sombre nights, far away and away

Rush, rush into the belly of the deep tide,  

Into the sway of the wailing seas, where only dark pearls have any say,

Rush, rush into the valley of dipping green and swelling grey,
Tell the Earth I am by her side.

The lips of the ocean part in lonely laughter and berated sighs,

Softly stealing the breath away,
Moaning across the silver pathway
Laid unbidden by the moon,

And I am here too soon,
Calling beyond forbidden ways known only to sleepers and the undying,

To reach the undead and not yet born, far away and away.

Rush, rush, keepers of the sea-herds
That charge the ocean bowls and rise onto unknown lands
Rush, rush, reapers of the tides of time in sacred hands,
Tell the Earth I am by her side. 

THE CALLING

for Carol (A poem that became a meditation and prayer to bring her out of a coma.)

Oh gentle soul of sleeping light,
Let Artaios guide you from the deep cave of forgetfulness,
Where only dreams live freely in that night.
Come back softly, softly,
Out of the dimmer clouds of existence.
Hold tightly the arm of the one who leads you persistently in Hope’s glimmer. Enter the harsh world sweetly, sweetly,
Cloaked in the deep pelt of the shamanic Bear,
And bring to ceaselessness, the hibernation from winter’s lair,
Where thoughts are stilled and breath slowed to verge of death.
Arise out of the womb of darkness,
Awaken slowly, slowly, and be aware.
Come back, come back from the brink of the world.
Come back here from there.

HOW COULD I?

How could I have wasted time so precious, so captured, and coveted? How could I dismiss the hours so readily when the Muse was so intent to lead and I not to follow? What words have gone, like lost beads, that could have been strung upon my necklace, had I but been content to listen? My heart is hollow with the thought that had my mind been not restless, a treasure chest of song and spell was there to have and hold.

Oh to be able to hold soul-still and have it all back again.

DWINA***