Love is her Belief
and her Commandment
Michael R. Burch

For Beth

 

Love is her belief and her commandment;

in restless dreams at night, she dreams of Love;

and Love is her desire and her purpose;

and everywhere she goes, she sings of Love.

 

There is a tomb in Palestine: for others

the chance to stake their claims (the Chosen Ones),

but in her eyes, it’s Love’s most hallowed chancel

where Love was resurrected, where one comes

in wondering awe to dream of resurrection

to blissful realms, where Love reigns over all

with tenderness, with infinite affection.

 

While some may mock her faith, still others wonder

because they see the rare state of her soul,

and there are rumors: when she prays the heavens

illume more brightly, as if saints concur

who keep a constant vigil over her.

 

And once she prayed beside a dying woman:

the heavens opened and the angels came

in the form of long-departed friends and loved ones,

to comfort and encourage. I believe

not in her God, but always in her Love.

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Previously published on The HyperTexts​​

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Michael R. Burch is one of the world’s most-published poets, with over 11,500 publications, including poems that have gone viral. This does not include self-published writings; if self-published writings were included, Mike’s total publications would be well over 20,000. Mike has also had 74 poems set to music by composers, from swamp blues to classical. He is also a longtime editor, publisher, and translator of Jewish Holocaust poetry and poems about the Trail of Tears, Hiroshima, Ukraine, the Nakba, and school shootings. Mike’s full biography may be read here.

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