Wind And Waves

“It doesn’t interest me if there is one God 
or many gods.

I want to know if you belong or feel
 abandoned.  If you know despair or can see it in others.

I want to know 
if you are prepared to live in the world
 with its harsh need
 to change you. If you can look back
 with firm eyes 
saying this is where I stand.

I want to know 
if you know 
how to melt into that fierce heat of living 
falling toward
 the center of your longing.

I want to know
 if you are willing 
to live, day by day, with the consequence of love 
and the bitter
 unwanted passion of your sure defeat.”

I have heard, in that fierce embrace, even 
the gods speak of God.”
— David Whyte