The Recipe Has Always Included Sorrow

To live in this world you must develop
a rubber-soled (souled?) heart.
It leads you forward into the fire,
seeking love to fulfil you,
till you lose all reason, then lose love itself,
and have to rebuild yourself from the ground up.

To live in this world, you must learn, many times,
that all that you hold most dear
will be lost, no matter how tightly
you grasp it. In fact, the more tightly
you hold on, the more certainly
the day will come when it is wrenched from you,
or simply turns its back and walks away.
So you learn to surrender, learn to just be
with what is, Now,
be ready, when the time comes,
to be grateful for the gift,
to open your curled fingers
and let what you most loved in the world
fly away.

To live in this world, you will be taught this lesson
more than once. It will be repeated until
you learn to keep your touch light
on the dear ones around you, to recognize
at the going in that there will be a coming out,
which is probably why the old
are so gentle and nostalgic,
so close to trembling tears,
and why our eyes are so wise
and knowing and sad.

To live in this world, you must develop
a high hopeful heart, a merry laugh,
(and, as you age, a cackle).
You must always keep in mind,
(riding on your left shoulder and
whispering in your ear,)
that the recipe for love, my friends,
has always included sorrow.

Day Eight of Wild Writing with Laurie Wagner