Weep No More

Weep No More

We walk in shadows
and speak of sadness,
yet we yearn for meaningful words
to pass on to our young.

We shield ourselves
from the pain loving brings,
yet we weep when warmth
cannot reach our heart. 

Perhaps we got our signals crossed
when leaving our mother's womb and hearth.
We left our childhood believing that love and pain
were as different as the sun and moon.

But the moon and sun both give us light.
One gives warmth, the other inspires.
What would we be without the movement of the seas?
What would grow without rays from the sun?

If fear of drought and hurricane
made man shun both the moon and sun,
what would we miss upon this earth,
from where would inspiration come?

And so, perhaps they are the same,
risk and hope, love and pain.
Perhaps the message for our young,
is to love each other anyway

for only then can they endure
love’s pain and scorn,
yet weep no more
for want of warmth.

SWPoet
(Above is a version that does not directly use, word for word,
a quote from the seed poem (in case
I end up using it in a collection. 
Below is the original.

Weep No More

We walk in shadows and speak of sadness, yet we yearn
for meaningful words to pass on to our young.
We shield ourselves from the pain
loving brings, yet "We weep
when light does not touch our hearts."

Perhaps we got our signals crossed
when leaving our mother's womb.
We left our childhood,
believing that love and pain
were as different as the sun and moon.

But the moon and sun both give us light
to inspire our minds and souls,
to warm our hearts.  Maybe, if we risk
rejection and pain, try to love anyway,
we would weep no more for lack of warmth.

Here is the line within the poem from Ladinsky's book/Meister Eckhart's words exactly as it appears in the book- to give it some context:

THE HOPE OF LOVING

What keeps us alive, what allows us to endure?
I think it is the hope of loving,
Of being loved.

I heard a fable once about the sun going on a journey
to find its source, and how the moon wept
without her lover's
warm gaze.

We weep when light does not reach our hearts.  We wither
like fields if someone close
does not rain their
kindness
upon
us

***From the book, Love Poems from God: Twelve Sacred Voices from the East and West by Daniel Ladinsky. The poem was made into poetry form by Mr. Ladinsky as taken from the writings of Meister Eckhart (1260-1328.  The poem is entitled "The Hope of Loving" p.109. 


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For those of us in the Poet's Journey class, the version at the top of the page was version 1-Centered version

Below is Left aligned with some changes in lines

Weep No More

We walk in shadows and speak of sadness,
yet we yearn for meaningful words to pass to our young.
We shield ourselves from the pain loving brings,
yet "We weep when light does not touch our hearts."

Perhaps we got our signals crossed
when leaving our mother's womb.
We left our childhood believing that love and pain
were as different as the sun and moon.

But the moon and sun both give us light
to inspire our minds and souls and warm our hearts. 
Maybe, if we risk rejection and pain, and love anyway,
we would weep no more for lack of warmth.


Version 3: New line breaks from Version 2 but centered this time.

Weep No More

We walk in shadows and speak of sadness,
yet we yearn for meaningful words to pass to our young.
We shield ourselves from the pain loving brings,
yet "We weep when light does not touch our hearts."

Perhaps we got our signals crossed
when leaving our mother's womb.
We left our childhood believing that love and pain
were as different as the sun and moon.

But the moon and sun both give us light
to inspire our minds and souls and warm our hearts. 
Maybe, if we risk rejection and pain, and love anyway,
we would weep no more for lack of warmth.

I think I like version 1 the best or at least centered.