soft drops found her face
one this second
one a few later
steering their path through high leaves
she was comforted of it
it did the job well enough
to camouflage her tears
the passers-by still doubting
“why are love deeds so rare?”
question shattering her day
real love deeds, pure ones
the kind clear seen before hand
in no wise possible
to benefit her future soul
and rarer still
moreso than selfless acting
those sacred humans, moments
who somehow perceived joy
in this hopeless goalless doing
“did I once feel this?”
a jagged boulder she was passing
joined in, reverent, to her thoughts
in childhood feelings are naive
blessed be humans that life so crafts it
for tempests rude are scheduled
great and churning and capsizing
and a strength is needed to set out
even the chicks first pierce
of their shell while still at nest
betokens a bravery unspeakable
the fully conscious couldn’t bear
and so true thou once were joyful
in the kindnesses uncalculated
but this an inherited virtue shining
born of openness to what blesses down
a gifting of vigilant design
an almost-memory from before
and also a secreted impetus
to step on ignorant of tragedy
but not entirely ignorant
what else could truth be?
you are dared to love
right through the suffering
because the suffering becomes a salve
only deeply experienced ones
usually old ladies smiling insensibly
can sense the joy
in utterly purposeless
deeds of actual loving
_______RS
[ Image: Lone sentry boulder near Lake Pukaki in New Zealand. ]
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i must be an old lady, lol 🙂 , though i dont think of deeds of love as purposeless; they are intended as beneficence, to provide feelings of warmth, affection, needed support and pleasure to the loved one.
Could well be! 🙂
This piece was partly seeded by a quote I had come across in a spiritual volume about Love and it’s Meaning in the World (and partly seeded by something else). Here is part of it, which may explain things or further cloud them:
“The only actions from which we have nothing in the future are those we perform out of true, genuine love. This truth may well be disquieting and men are lucky in that they know nothing of it in their upper consciousness. But in their subconsciousness all of them know it, and that is why deeds of love are done so unwillingly, why there is so little love in the world. Men feel instinctively that they may expect nothing for their “I” in the future from deeds of love. An advanced stage of development must have been reached before the soul can experience joy in performing deeds of love from which there is nothing to be gained for itself. The impulse for this is not strong at present in humanity.”
I’m sad for those who cant find the rewarding joy found in giving to those they love and i’m sad for the world as we could use more altruistic charity without expecting a reciprocal exchange.
It must be understood that the passage is not necessarily referring to giving to “those we love”. For this still carries an element of self benefit to it. I think it is speaking of something beyond that. 🙂
ok. Like people we dont know/see?
are you referring to altruism? It’s genetic. We either have it or not.