Love, Only Love

Circumstances had taken their one and only. 

A youngster killed during a tragic storm. 

With wrenched hearts mourned.

A miracle child was lost.

The world moved on without them.

 

One day the clouds showed a ray of hope.

Life would never be the same but

They knew they could still love

 

A troubled and abused child entered their home

Angry and scared

Attack his defense

He didn’t understand these people

They spoke words like

Care, security, freedom, love

All so foreign

 

When his protective shell was probed, he acted out

They loved him anyway

They offered kindness

He parried with sarcasm

The extended understanding

He deflected with indifference

 

His soul remembered a time he believed in love

It is how a child thrives

How he wished they really were who they claimed to be

But adults only disappointed at best

Crushed at worst

 

Love is a beacon

A candle in the rain

It never stops its pull
Love, only love

 

Why do you love me?

Because we are full of love for you
You are worth it

How can I trust you?

Love always seeks the best even when the object of love doesn’t see the best

What if I disappoint you?

We will love you anyway? We don’t want perfection. 

 

Slowly, love’s purity soaked through the wall

A shattered heart began to mend

Wholeness was restored

How can I repay you?

Do unto another as we have done for you

 

Each life is hope for another.

Your story can be the beacon, the hope for a broken, fallen world

Let your tragedy become triumph

Love, only love

 

Duane Windell Phillips

Copyright November 2016