LOVE a golden chain that binds ….And he in LOVE his heaven finds --

Dear heart

We may be born far apart,

And then --

Nearer than the nearest stars,

What is distance when

Heart and soul are one?

None can keep 

Away from you and I 

That smile within

Revealing a bond

Stronger than

The golden thread

LOVE itself guards,

It is a hidden song!

Tell me

Whose tender image

Reflects these lines,

And is as penetrating as

The sound of the

Cathedral chimes?

My heart ascends . . .

As I discern

Your heart

In accord with the 

Ringing bells

As they start,

And heart its heaven tells.

(July 5, 2013)

May my song be Thy praise!

The strength of your thought lies,

as you’ll find,

in expressing gratitude, and to live by it, 

and to remember God's bounty throughout the year!

String the pearls of His love, 

string the garlands of His flowers,

stretch them out,

step into the sunshine

and leave behind the dark! 

Thanks to joy, to love, to peace of mind! 

After all, “thanks” is an action, 

 a “thanks” with just your lips
 would be flat,

because the true Thanksgiving


comes from the heart.


Be grateful at the start of a day

not just for that one day

but for each new morning

that brings light,
 rest and shelter,

food and health, and so much more.

Dear LOVE divine, Thy goodness provides,
and is universal, 

belonging to all ages and to all minds.

There is always a time for gratitude,

and a new beginning, 

you are alive in those moments

when your heart is aware of its treasure!  

Thanksgiving is the pleasure of peace,

the celebration of work and a simple life . . .

a mutual celebration that speaks the poetry

of the turn of the seasons, the beauty of seedtime

and harvest, and the deep, deep connection 

of all things true and good with God. 

If ever thankless and believing there is

nothing to be thankful for,

 he who sits at the table, morose and thankless

for the food thereupon,

is as if he had no food. 

Nothing is your own,

except that which you acknowledge

in deep appreciation,

of which thankfulness is the greatest part!  

A truly thankful heart

hath a continual celebration of goodness,

this is the eternal food!  

LOVE has more than one dwelling;

one in heaven, i.e., in harmony,

and the other in a gracious and thankful heart. 

It takes a pure love to praise God

for those unrealized blessings

than for those you once enjoyed,

or those you have now. 

And though I have no silver and gold,

I'll move in thanks, like an ever-flowing river!

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of a life, 

it turns what we have into enough, 

and adds more and more, 

it turns rejection into receptivity,

confusion yielding to order,

uncertainty to clarity.  Gratitude

makes sense of our life and loving,

brings peace for today and creates

a vision of unity for tomorrow. 

Even though we thank God for the grace

we ourselves have received, it should be as easy

to give thanks to God, and to give praise

for the blessings given to those who need it most. 

Our gratitude should never sleep!

Do we not have the sunshine in the morning,

and the moonbeam at night?

--eva-maria hogrefe--
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On the day of the Marathon bombing in Boston, MA

Like a silent invisible stream

flowing beneath the bare soil,

the river of LIFE impels, and

floods the vast eternal land

as my vision of it slowly swells

through the sands of time

through the sands of experience

through the sands of space

filling that inner and outer expanse.

Life is Life –it has to make sense

as a continuing tangible presence

without pretense—

against wild powers and furies

of run-lose fear and emotional flurries.

Life nurtures each of us in our daily bower

in spite of a fear of death

as it brings down a defeatist’s tower, 

and the calm of a rising crest, the breath,

leads you and I, and all —if we let –

to an all-permeating peace,

and I humbly bow!

April 15, 2013

To a far-off Friend

Sweet friend, allow me to say, 

Share, share, share, your muse and

Your precious thoughts, because

We do not live for ourselves alone:

Everything you say with that

Characteristic integrity and humility

Of words, thus naturally flows,

Touches my heart like the

Spring-tide of the season and

Its gentle rain that has merged

With the warmth of the sunlight . . .

I know, as it's coming from you

It’s all so true from the perspective 

Of you, loving the Truth of truths

More than you would

Like to assume or show.

Our hearts see that which is 

Invisible to the naked eye, and

WHY? Because hearts speak

And need no reasons

To echo the truth 

Of what so splendidly unites!

(April 13, 2013)

The  Moonbeam -------

The moonbeam at night

gently shines on a searching mind

with sorrow filled, it's lost to be still;

the soft light of the moonbeam

keeps the vast landscape

of sadness hidden;

the forest moody and distant,

even though the light silently 
is spreading over the trees,

over all creatures sleeping;

ah the moonbeam at night

hides the romance of the heart

and its winsome wings

woven into the moonbeam

and over the horizon

up to the dim stars

in a distant sky

dark blue

in the beam of the light,

it is touching a restless mind

beyond stillness,

beyond the throbbing heart,

but you Dear in your spacious soul

feel the softness and the cool

of a moonbeam

and a calm,

as thought races over space

towards you,

to ask for the balm

of your gentle heart!

2012

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

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