Dance Me On and On

Dance me to the wedding now,
dance me on and on
Dance me very tenderly
and dance me very long
We're both of us beneath our love,
we're both of us above
Dance me to the end of love

Dance me to the children who
are asking to be born
Dance me through the curtains
that our kisses have outworn
Raise a tent of shelter now,
though every thread is torn
Dance me to the end of love

Dance me to your beauty with a burning violin
Dance me through the panic till I'm gathered safely in
Touch me with your naked hand or touch me with your glove

Dance me to the end of love

- Leonard Cohen

In this Popworld, love often appears cliche, ironic, to be commodified, marketed and sold - and Hallmark has copyrighted it all.

Yet people still yearn for love, still believe in it, still want it - though they may taunt it, deny it, or abuse it - and maybe are afraid of it. They might be afraid because its become so idealized as to be unattainable. We try to live the pop fantasy of love rather than its reality. When the fantasy disappears we all look for someone to blame, and rarely look at ourselves in the mirror.

I've experienced the bitter taste of love vanished; I've seen the fantasies turn to ashes and tasted them. I have mistaken fear for love, comfort for love, lust for love, the desire to be saved for love, and even loneliness for love. I blame no others for these experiences. I relish them all for they all taught me. Harsh lessons at times. But good ones...

Then I met Charlotte. To say that her love saved my life is literally true. We went through our rose-colored glasses period, our crazy in love period, and all the rest. But what we are left with is a love that seems to endure and grow like the pines all around our house. We have put down roots in this love. Side by side, we bask in the sun, and revel in the snow. We love the bluebirds and hummingbirds that live in our branches. Even the squirrels, though annoying at times, are lovable scamps.

We hold hands when we walk down the dirt road by our house, we marvel at the blue sky we are so blessed to live under, we believe in each other. We are best friends and lovers. We love each other's children like our own. We say and do foolish things sometimes, but rarely a harsh word. And when we do, we manage to make up pretty well.

Charlotte has been in Hawaii all week with her daughter Cassie having a wonderful time. With this bit of solitude, I've been able to understand a little better just how much she means to me.

And just how much I hope...

...that she dances me to the end of love.

Namaste.

leonard+cohen, love, dance+me+to+the+end+of+love, Hallmark,