Love Is An Absence

Love is an absence much more than a fullness. Love is a fullness of absence. Christian Bobin

Love is not the presence of man-made gods and angels 

Love is not (to quote Dylan) ‘flesh-colored Christs that glow in the dark’

Love is not the comfort of ritual

the stroking of romance

the safety net of marriage

the golden ring with which you pledged the world

the silver chalice you dug up by accident in the garden

or discovered after a dedicated lifelong search

or the heart you embalmed

or the hidden spring you dowsed

or the madman you calmed

or the rabble you roused

or the self-control you exercised

or the serenity you cultivated

or the disciplines you practised

or the game plans you activated

or the duty you did 

or the pain that you hid

or the disciples you led

or the vices you shed

or the virtues you upheld

or the views you withheld

or the thresholds you crossed

or the paths that you lost 

or the friends you invited

or the enemies you indicted

or the sutras you recited

or the candles you lighted

Love is not happiness sadness or blind indifference

Love is not approbation reprobation confrontation or perturbation

Love is not cunning or svelte words

or transient feelings and emotions

Love is beyond the moaning of the sea

the passionate fervour of the ocean

the land’s hard embrace

the salty kiss of the waves on the shore

Love is not any of these things

yet Love is all of these things

for Love is all there is

and Love is all there is not

yes Love is all there is

yes Love is all

yes Love is

yes Love

yes

Love is an absence

Love is a fullness of absence

THE SOLITARY WALKER