“It is only through letting our heart break that we discover something unexpected: The heart cannot actually break, it can only break open… To live with a broken-open heart is to experience life full strength… When the heart breaks open, it marks the beginning of a real love affair with this world. It is a broken-hearted love affair, rather than the conventional kind based on hope and expectation. Only in this fearless love that can respond to life’s pain as well as its beauty can we be of real help to ourselves or anyone else in this difficult age. The broken-hearted warrior is an essential archetype for our time.” — John Welwood, from his book Love and Awakening
remembering my broken heart
it was the reason you turned
of all the reasons to set apart
this was the one that burned
you said that you understood
i do not think you do
for ever my broken heart would
only see the best of you
human eyes, often blurry
less clearly do they see
ironic that in angry hurry
you condemn my humanity
such things of old i cherished
whenever i saw them in you
even as all hope perished
or i angered as humans do
never were you as forgiving
of the humanity in me
as if to be fully living
could be of humanity, free
i did not seek for you
to heal the broken heart
but, for love itself, eschew
to e’re set it apart
yet, such is your first choice
in all things, primary
“not this life”, set voice
as you flee the sanctuary
it was ever known there is
no healing of the broken heart
of all the things of you i’ll miss
this blindness is the start
sad that you’re unable
to ever clearly see
the broken heart as stable
its holder, more fully free