Love’s winged messenger

The curtain! 


Ah, the curtain, 


I see it hiding your deep 


visceral emotion, 


a genuine empathy 


of your heart’s unseen 


but for now 
stranded notions of love. 



The voice of Love 


gently flies over the waters, 


gently sounds on the strand, 


gently fills the sky 


and lifts its darkness. 


I smell the rain, 


its freshness, 


not a flood 


but gently pouring. 


O little bird, 


Love’s winged messenger, 


let it still your unrest 


that toils to weave 


a warm nest 


waiting,


waiting on the sand, 


yet waiting 


in its gloom of love consumed.

From the deep sources of your mood 


see the clouds moving, 


see a ribbon of blue sky shining through! 



Dear heart ... what is the silent torment, 


what makes you pining? 


Little sparrow shake your feathers, 


and join the skylark's upward rising. 

--eva-maria hogrefe 

(2013)

The flowers of Your devotion . . .

Shape me – forever > LOVE!

What if the soul and heart discern

What is not discernible to the naked eye?

What if there is more beyond the heights

Of physical and romantic love?

Ah – Yes, to be deeply loved gives you strength – and

Loving deeply gives you daring!

But what if you walk into the green, lush meadow

Of the garden of your heart,

Hear Love's voice in the song of a Meadowlark

But without gratitude

For tears from a full sky, 

Song and

Flowers,  your love-devotion

Could die:

Lean on LOVE!

Love’s supply comes with burning flames

Of yearning to surrender to its might,

Even though the tears from your eyes

Grow the roots of love deeper.

To love someone because you want love

Is not enough --

To love because someone needs your love

Is enough!

Loneliness needs Love!

Love is the presence of light within,

Love, and love more . . . and if love hurts,

Walk right on with LOVE, because

Love moves you, leaving behind the pain,

And elevates you higher in its atmosphere, to shine.

Such love is the beginning of wisdom!

Can we live without wisdom?

Without the evocatively beautiful that is LOVE?

Where there is love there is all of Life!

When you see the smile of Love that’s

The beginning of love filling your heart!

If you want to be with a friend,

Can distance and time keep you apart?

No! It cannot!

Love is already there,

It is within – You,

“In word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity!”

Love within you sees the Beloved’s face

In the landscape of an inner life,

Which instantaneously unites.

Listen to Love and you are in its presence!

But then, don’t mind distances’ lessons,

It may just fan the fire of affection,

Love is a force, more enriching, more formidable

Than any other so-called power –

Love is All-in all!

It regenerates, lifts the flower of your being,

And blesses you immeasurably!

Just a touch of Love and we become lovers . . . 

It seems when we are waiting for Love,

It’s slow as a snow-bound roe, but when we are still

And soak every moment with love,

We experience Love’s thrill of eternity!

Consistency is its nature,

Nourishing us with its bread and sublime wine,

Its cup is full of encouragement.

LOVE calls out “Be Mine, live in Me!

And you’ll never hunger and thirst again!”

Ah then– we love to love, to love Love!

It makes us kind and patient with those

Who need LOVE the most --

Because they live under a self-imposed burden,

Believing in a loveless life.

But how can that be?

We are all Love’s offspring.  All!

You cannot stop Love,

In one way or another love continues to flow

Like a strong river of pure energy cutting

Through the valleys of dry soil and hard stones. 

Perhaps human love goes through changes,

It evolves, and

If we are careless dries up.

But LOVE that is infinite has none beside itself.

It is our guide and bard and heart,

Trusting Love makes all things possible!

Even if we yearn for it without the ability to clearly define…

LOVE defines itself, and as we yield

To Love and its vastness we see

Its changelessness dancing softly within . . .

O we then understand how Love defines

In the love-rhythm of our hearts

Each one of us, including you and I!

--eva-maria hogrefe

February 14, 2013

compilation

emerald song

Ah, precious

moments

of memories,

of walking with thee

in the wind

as it cools the heat

along the streets

and at the shores

of darkened sea.

Beyond I languish

by the blooming rose,

see the peak and pine

in the Autumn shade.

Time goes by ...
with its perpetual sigh,
your song and my 

tearful soul--                              

silently I wait

upon a winding road

yellow

red 

purple

leaves,

morning flees

before

my aching heart.

--eva-maria hogrefe

(October 31, 2012)

the pearl within touches you

Early

I rise

The moon still in the sky,

stillness the pulse of the city

but not internally,

the blue grotto,

my heart, restless!

I imagine I can hear

the sea

where the waves

echo my heart–beat,

and the ebb and flow

of the tides

are beneath my feet,

knee-deep

I’m in anticipation

of meeting Love

the fullness of your soul

the beauty of you,

the rich azure

within your deepest

recesses of thought.

I’ll travel gently

over its surface

as  a huge

circular light

spirals

its way toward

my heart,

and as you touch

it

the pearl within

touches you.

--eva-maria hogrefe

(October 26, 2012)

Self

You see the scene

Of your inverted self

Through the rocks

Of space

Your outer self

Through the sands

Of thought

You trace--

The subtle race

For the sweet

Presence

Of the eternal ways

Of Love--

And in your true self

Face

The lilacs

Jasmine

Violets

And roses,

Luring

The senses within--

Homeward!

--eva-maria hogrefe

(October 23, 2012)

not in books found

Good-bye only to mortal-throbs

of spiritual blindness

leaving behind the mindless --

a drama reflected on

the mental screen  of silence.

And a warm "Hello,"

and a sweet embrace

in the sunshine found

in every nook

of an inner space 

of love,

wisdom,

kindness,

and patience with the mind of men.

Not in books found

but on the spiritual plane

do we soar, bound to each other 
with joy, and in Love’s sacred power!

--eva-maria hogrefe

(October 23, 2012)

It’s how Love designs

Timeless—

spring arrives after winter

as the ice edges dissolve

at the rushing waterfalls--
where?

One follows another

and so with joy do bear

the stream of life-- now

snow on the plow

snow in the hair,

does to love it matter?

What has love

to do with time,

can Mind be battered?

The flow of tears

the flow of rivers

the flow of seasons

all purify

the mud

accumulated

by time, and its sludge

earth-bound … but

not of life and love!

Sweet and soft

she spoke

but he

sighs, and a tear of winter

broke.

A kiss of love offered

cloaked --

can it return? Yes!

Take the kiss and

drink 

the timeless nectar

of divinity--

its love

beauty

immortality

the ambrosia of soul

the perfume of love

to love and live!

It’s how Love designs

one and one 
and, one by one, to bind!

--eva-maria hogrefe

(October 2012)