In God Makes the Rivers to Flow; An Anthology of the World’s Sacred Poetry & Prose, Eknath Easwaran includes a selection from Thomas A Kempis entitled “The Wonderful Effect of Divine Love.”  I’ve written the following poem-like reflections inspired by this selection.

Lord, Be Mine

If any one love, he knoweth what is the cry of this voice. For it is a loud cry in the ears of God, the mere ardent affection of the soul, when it saith, “My God, my love, thou art all mine, and I am all thine.”—Thomas A Kempis

This cry is a cry of the heart.

This cry penetrates the darkness.

This cry reverberates through the stomach, the gut.

This cry is a cry of the whole body.

This cry calls out from the deeps beyond the body.

This is a cry of the infinite.

Come to me, Lord.

Come to me, my love.

Gather me in your embrace.

Drink deeply of my kiss.

Pour your presence into my heart.

Take over my body.

Conquer me.

Command me.

Direct me.

Guide me.

I am all yours, Lord.

Wherever you send me, I will go.

Whatever you want me to do, I will do.

I love you more with each breath.

I delight in our union.

I want to know you more, Lord.

I want to know you with every cell of my body.

I want to know you with every thought I think.

May I think only of you.

May I obsess over you.

May I wake desiring you.

May I sleep in your arms.

May I spend my days serving you.

May I know you more every step I take.

May I see you in the daffodils.

May I see you in the grass.

May I see you in the weeds.

May I see you in the trees.

May I hear you in the wind.

May I hear you in the running water.

May I hear you in the silence.

May I taste you in ripe peaches.

May I taste you in fresh basil.

May I taste you in ground almonds.

May I taste you in steamed kale.

May I smell you in the fragrance of a rose.

May I smell you in baking bread and rising yeast.

May I feel you in the rain.

May I feel you in the sun.

May I feel you as a feather against my skin.

May I know you in the beating of my heart.

May I know you in the eyes of a child.

May I know you in everything I have ever known.

I am yours, Lord.

Be mine.