Speak to us of love, from the Prophet.
Then said Amitra, Speak to us of love.
And he raised his head and looked upon the people, and there fell a stillness upon them.
And with a great voice he said, When love beckons you, follow him, though his ways are hard and steep.
and when his wings enfold you, yield to him, though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you.
And when he speaks to you, believe in him, though his voice may shatter your dreams as the north wind lays waste the garden.
But even as love crowns you, so shall he crucify you.
Even as he is for your growth, so he is your pruning.
even as he ascends to your height and caresses your tenderest branches that quiver in the sun.
So shall he descend to your roots and shake them in the clinging of the earth.
Like sheaves of corn he gathers you unto himself.
He threshes you to make you naked.
He sifts you to free you from your husks.
He grinds you to whiteness.
He needs you until you apply it, and then he assigns you to his sacred fire.
that you may become sacred bread for God's sacred feast.
All these things shall love do unto you.
that you may know the secrets of your heart, and in that knowledge become a fragment of life's heart.
But if you fear you would seek only love's peace and love's pleasure, then it is better for you to cover your nakedness
and pass out of love's threshing floor into the seasonless world where you shall laugh.
Love gives naught but itself, and takes naught but from itself.
Love possesses not, nor would it be possessed.
For love is sufficient unto love.
When you love, you should say not, God is in my heart, but rather,
I am in the heart of God.
And think not you can direct the course of love, for love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.
Love has no other desire but to fulfill itself.
But if you love, and must needs have desires,
Let these be your desires.
To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night.
to know the pain of too much tenderness, to be wounded by your own understanding of love.
and to bleed willingly and joyfully, to wake at dawn with a winged heart,
and give thanks for another day of loving, to rest at the noon hour and meditate love's ecstasy.
to return home at eventide with gratitude, and then to sleep with a prayer for the beloved in your heart.
and a song of praise upon your lips.
