Thursday, April 24, 2008

Love ... Another View

Friendship and love are the recurrent themes of all that my life moves to. If I can give anything to my world, I would that it be an awareness and appreciation of the treasures held in these elements of life that are so readily available to us all. Better than I could ever express, Roy Croft presents a fresh and exhilarating view of what I am feebly trying to say. His words paint the picture that I would hope that my life sketches in the hearts of those whose lives I touch. If it could be so… My life will have been a success.

Love

I love you,
Not only for what you are,
But for what I am
When I am with you.

I love you,
Not only for what
You have made of yourself,
But for what
You are making of me.

I love you
For the part of me
That you bring out;
I love you for putting your hand
Into my heaped-up heart
And passing over
All the foolish, weak things
That you can’t help
Dimly seeing there,
And for drawing out
Into the light
All the beautiful belongings
That no one else had looked
Quite far enough to find.

I love you because you
Are helping me to make
Of the lumber of my life
Not a tavern
But a temple;
Out of the works
Of my every day
Not a reproach
But a song.

I love you
Because you have done
More than any creed
Could have done
To make me good,
And more than any fate
Could have done
To make me happy.

You have done it
Without a touch,
Without a word,
Without a sign.
You have done it
By being yourself.
Perhaps that is what
Being a friend means,
After all.



ROY CROFT

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

I remember this poem, I even use some of the words for one of my own, it's just so peaceful and it's truth shows the Peace and Truth of the person that wrote it.

Love ya Dad,
Cesar Pacheco

John-Michael said...

I'm pleased to see that we are (as always) on the "same page", My Spirit-Son, Cesar.

May Peace and Truth be your companions today.

I love You Son!

Amy Y said...

I would say, knowing you only in this venue, that your life has been a success. And will continue to be so.

nitebyrd said...

Those are well put together words for sure! The poet actually has been able express what I think about my friends.

Thank you, john-michael for posting it.

John-Michael said...

Thank you, Amy. How very kind of you! And, Yes!, do feel most blessed and fortunate.

(You, My Darling, are a definite element of that 'blessing.'

I love You ...

John-Michael said...

I am truly pleased that you and I are sharing the same thoughts on this, NiteByrd, My Dear. I found it satisfying to grasp all of his words and allow them to find their places in my own Self.

This lovely bond that we share is a joy to me ... and I love You so!

Suldog said...

Oh, my. That's a lovely poem.

I gave you a little plug over at my place today. I said something about you being a deep poet. Of course, you would put a poem by somebody else up on the day I did that :-)

Crystal said...

You will always be a success to me my dear friend. That was a beautiful poem. Thank you for sharing it with all of us;o)

Kissing of the Frogs said...

John-Michael,
This poem is just beautiful in every way. The words hold so much meaning, wow. Thanks for sharing.
Hugs,
Rose

John-Michael said...

Well Jim, old SulDog Friend ... I did drift over to your place to see what sort of mischief you managed to entwine my name into. And, not so terrible painful (smile) and I am a bit remorseful for letting you down like this.

But then again, you did employ mention of me (and an unnamed "lovely") as a bit of "hamburger helper" in your admitted want of more substantial fare. But You, Dear Friend, are such a high quality of 'ground' that to be included as a smidgen of your blend is still a very nice compliment.

I love You, Jim.

John-Michael said...

Rose, my Dearest of Friends, How I do delight in having you embrace something that is dear to me as well. Sharing a Heart moment with You is rich for me!

I love You, Sweet Joy.

John-Michael said...

Crystal, Crystal, My wind-chime in the breezes of life ... how you do satisfy and please my Soul. Thank you, my Darling Friend!

I love You ... BIG BUNCHES!

debi said...

You are such a special man. You leave me speechless.

John-Michael said...

Debi, my Dear Lady, you are generous beyond my merit. And I thank you for that kind generosity.

Lovingly ...

lime said...

i know this is a post gone by but since you have comment moderation i know you'll see this.

i just need to say this stanza spoke to me most of all.
I love you
For the part of me
That you bring out;
I love you for putting your hand
Into my heaped-up heart
And passing over
All the foolish, weak things
That you can’t help
Dimly seeing there,
And for drawing out
Into the light
All the beautiful belongings
That no one else had looked
Quite far enough to find.


i think it is because it's what i aspire to give and what i am most touched to receive. i've found that folks are not always so able to receive it though (myself included at times) because it requires being vulnerable enough to let a person look far enough to find.

John-Michael said...

Darling Lime, it is with just this sensitivity that my Soul expressed itself in my penning the words to “Wounded”.

I hope that the "sense" of that is spoken to your Heart.

Loving lovingly ...

Creative Commons License
Unless expressly stated, all original material, of whatever nature, created by J. Michael Brown (John-Michael) and included in this weblog and any related pages, including the weblog's archives is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 License.