for D.

i

Opening wide the door and

Allowing the loved one to

Walk out

Into a new adventure,

A new phase of the story being told:

Love writes the ending of the last

Chapter (knowing there are some

Parts that will be missed as they are

Packed away to make room for the new)

And turns the page to the next beginning,

Not letting nostalgia rob the future

Of its joy, but not insisting

On walking the next miles of the journey,

Knowing it is time,

Promising to still be waiting

With an open door.

iii

Sometimes Love means letting go–

Throwing open the cage and

Letting the bird go free,

Removing jesses, tethers,

Putting away the scissors that kept

The freedom-loving wings clipped,

Accepting the snappings of the

Wild spirit

And not hindering

The soul from seeking its own,

Perhaps its angry or foolish, way.

Love does not quibble about

What is fair or proper or usual,

But opens its coffers to give the

Requested inheritance,

Opens its arms to release the son,

And watches his form fade into

The distance

Perhaps never to return.

iv

Sometimes Love means holding on–

Standing firm on embattled ground

Till hand forgets how to let go the spear,

Till the fight has been won or

Every last ounce of strength has been

Exhausted in the attempt.

Love refuses to recant what is

True and just and right;

Love refuses to accept in its place

The darkness of deceit,

Fighting on for what is best,

Not easiest.

v

Sometimes Love means holding on–

Refusing to give in,

Refusing to throw away all hope.

Love chooses to remember,

To affirm

All that is noble and worthy and true

In the beloved,

Even when the beloved has forgotten

The meaning of those words.

vi

This love–it is not blind:

It asks of us that we not forget but forgive,

Canceling the unpaid debts,

Knowing they may never be recognized,

May never be paid,

Yet trusting in the One Who pays all debts.

And this love–it is not easy:

yes, this love is hard.

Because it does not feel as love

Should feel, we think–

All warm and soft and comfortable–

We look at it askance,

Wonder at times if we chose rightly.

One thing we can know for certain:

Choosing to make the hard choices

For the sake of the beloved

Proves love’s quality.

vii

Because sometimes Love means both

The letting go and the hanging on.

It asks of us that we open our hand

(That we not hinder)

But requires of us, strictly,

To harbor that unlikely songbird

Hope

In our heart of hearts

To sing in the darkness.

viii

Yes, sometimes Love means both

The letting go and the hanging on.

And that is why Love is . . .

A father scanning the horizon

Day after day

Waiting for his son’s return,

For that speck in the distance

To take on his child’s familiar gait

And then for those beloved features

To come into clearer focus as the

Wanderer returns.

That’s why Love is . . .

The only-begotten Son, the Promised King

Accepting the rejection of His people,

Dying the death

Of a vile criminal at their request

To secure a greater deliverance

Than they could dream for themselves,

Losing His hold over them in order to

Hold onto them forever.

Yes, sometimes Love means both

The letting go and the hanging on.

And that is why Love is . . .

A father scanning the horizon

Day after day

Waiting for his son’s return,

For that speck in the distance

To take on his child’s familiar gait

And then for those beloved features

To come into clearer focus as the

Wanderer returns.

That’s why Love is . . .

The only-begotten Son, the Promised King

Accepting the rejection of His people,

Dying the death

Of a vile criminal at their request

To secure a greater deliverance

Than they could dream for themselves,

Losing His hold over them in order to

Hold onto them forever.

Because sometimes Love means both

The letting go and the hanging on.

It asks of us that we open our hand

(That we not hinder)

But requires of us, strictly,

To harbor that unlikely songbird

Hope

In our heart of hearts

To sing in the darkness.

This love–it is not blind:

It asks of us that we not forget but forgive,

Canceling the unpaid debts,

Knowing they may never be recognized,

May never be paid,

Yet trusting in the One Who pays all debts.

And this love–it is not easy:

yes, this love is hard.

Because it does not feel as love

Should feel, we think–

All warm and soft and comfortable–

We look at it askance,

Wonder at times if we chose rightly.

One thing we can know for certain:

Choosing to make the hard choices

For the sake of the beloved

Proves love’s quality.