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Nov 23, 2008

One of my favorite poems of all time:





Psyche with the candle


Archibald MacLeish (1892-1982)

Love which is the most difficult mystery
Asking from every young one answers
And most from those most eager and most beautiful--

Love is a bird in a fist:
To hold it hides it, to look at it lets it go.
It will twist loose if you lift so much as a finger.
It will stay if you cover it-- stay but unknown and
invisible.
Either you keep it forever with fist closed
Or let it fling
Singing in fervor of sun and in song vanish.
There is no answer other to this mystery.

4 comments:

Unknown said...

That was beautiful.

eric1313 said...

Amen.

Gotta let it sing, or it's not even real.

What a beautiful offering you bring us.

Catmoves said...

I have made it a rule to hold my love ever so tightly...with open arms.
It has worked for us.

Unknown said...

It is a perfect poem, isn't it?