In one more week the Christian world, or at least the Westernized portion of it, will melt into puddles of goop. Yes, Valentine's is just around the corner and what do I have to say about it?
Bah, HUMBUG!
But seriously, if I had a theme song for these times, it's "Hello, Young Lovers" from "The King and I":
Intro:
When I think of Tom
I think of a night,
When the earth smelled of summer
And the sky was streaked with white,
The soft mist of England
Was sleeping on a hill.
I remember this,
And I always will...
There are new lovers now
On the same silent hill,
Looking on the same blue sea.
And I know Tom and I are a part of them all --
And they're all a part of Tom and me.
Main:
Hello young lovers, whoever you are,
I hope your troubles are few.
All my good wishes go with you tonight,
I've been in love like you.
Be brave, young lovers, and follow your star,
Be brave and faithful and true,
Cling very close to each other tonight.
I've been in love like you.
I know how it feels to have wings on your heels,
And to fly down the street in a trance.
You fly down a street on the chance that you meet,
And you meet -- not really by chance.
Don't cry young lovers, whatever you do,
Don't cry because I'm alone;
All of my memories are happy tonight,
I've had a love of my own.
I've had a love of my own, like yours-
I've had a love of my own.
Be brave, young lovers, and follow your star,
Be brave and faithful and true,
Cling very close to each other tonight.
I've been in love like you.
I know how it feels to have wings on your heels,
And to fly down the street in a trance.
You fly down a street on the chance that you meet,
And you meet -- not really by chance.
Don't cry young lovers, whatever you do,
Don't cry because I'm alone;
All of my memories are happy tonight,
I've had a love of my own.
I've had a love of my own, like yours-
I've had a love of my own.
We can hem and haw until eternity about love, but there is no need, really - if we realize the love that is already within us. While certainly the Eiffel Tower going out will dampen the mood, there is an issue bigger than the commerce of love.
My wish, and my hope, is that more and more people will look at the important things --- to take Ludwig Mies van der Rohe out of context, "God is in the details." The stark, barren landscape of our love is a prettier sight when it is raw and unadulterated.
I did have a love of my own - with C. - but one day it ended. There was no "happy ever after." Or at least, her happy ever after was with someone else. Since then it's been that hard to reach into my heart and pull out something more. I am pricked, always, by the thought of the "might-have-beens" but there are no regrets. She will have her own category in my personal pantheon, and one day I hope another will be lifted up to take the place of honor, which has been largely empty since she left, despite all the hits and misses since then.
For young lovers out there, even though the light of romance dims, I hope and pray the afterglow that shines from within you and between you will be all the more radiant than the fireworks show or the full moon at night. Follow your star, be faithful, and brave, and true.
* * * * *
A shout out also to my sister, who celebrated her birthday yesterday. She and her hubby may not be considered "young lovers" but their love is fresh and new --- may this love keep the vitality of its springtime and grow in strength for they face interesting times (to say the least, if I may opine) ahead.
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