every love is a shield

as a child

i had a really undefined sense

of the purpose of the lives

of the people around me.

each lived . . .

and that was that.

this morning

as i reflected on my family and friends,

colleagues,

and bloggy chums,

i considered their

extrordinary contributions

towards making their

small part of this world

a better place

through whatever means are available

and in whatever form that might take.

as a place to begin

i believe that

part of repaying the debt of our existence is

to bring goodness into the world.

if that looks like beauty

or wisdom

or even

the faintest

outline

of a stairway

in the gloom,

it gives a worthy purpose to our existence.

to sing our songs

for all who can hear . . . or as my old subheading used to read:

"go up on the roof at night

in this city of the soul.

let everyone climb on their roofs

and sing their notes!

sing loud!"

jelaluddin rumi

louis welden hawkins girls singing music by gabriel fabry

every love is a shield against sadness,

a silent stair in the gloom,

stir me, sweet friend,

to raise myself to the sky from the rock,

for those who do not know

what deep wind has searched me.

excerpted from “wind at tindari” by salvatore quasimodo