[00:01.07]When Love Beckons You
[00:03.05]When love beckons to you, follow him,
[00:07.40]though his ways are hard and steep.
[00:10.36] And when his wings enfold you, yield to him,
[00:13.64]though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you.
[00:17.47]And when he speaks to you, believe in him,
[00:20.75]though his voice may shatter your dreams
[00:23.15]as the north wind lays waste the garden.
[00:25.56]For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you.
[00:29.94]Even as he is for your growth so is he for your pruning.
[00:34.63] Even as he ascends to your height and caresses your tenderest branches
[00:39.67]that quiver in the sun,
[00:41.42]so shall he descend to our roots and shake them
[00:44.48] in their clinging to the earth.
[00:46.78]But if, in your fear,
[00:49.07]you would seek only love's peace and love's pleasure,
[00:52.35]then it is better for you that you cover your nakedness
[00:55.31]and pass out of love's threshing floor,
[00:58.16] into the seasonless world where you shall laugh,
[01:00.77]but not all of your laughter, and weep,
[01:03.62]but not all of your tears.
[01:06.02] Love gives naught but itself and takes naught but from itself.
[01:11.06] Love possesses not,
[01:13.02] nor would it be possessed, for love is sufficient unto love.
[01:17.51]Love has no other desire but to fulfill itself.
[01:21.34]But if you love and must have desires, let these be your desires:
[01:27.24]To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night.
[01:31.84]To know the pain of too much tenderness.
[01:34.90]To be wounded by your own understanding of love;
[01:38.07]And to bleed willingly and joyfully.
[01:40.80]To wake at dawn with a winged heart and
[01:43.43] give thanks for another day of loving;
[01:45.95]To rest at the noon hour and meditate love's ecstasy;
[01:49.78]To return home at eventide with gratitude;
[01:53.06]And then to sleep with a prayer for the beloved in your heart
[01:57.10] and a song of praise upon your lips.
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