The crux of embrace

The crux of embrace                                                                      

As its fragrance is hidden in the rose,

my Beloved said,

so My presence is hidden in the human heart.

Under our noses, Lord – unobserved

within ourselves and others.

Only faith and desire keep us daring

the crux of embrace.

Yes, the heart gets tipsy at the first nip 

of Your wine – dances in its cage;      

deeper in the cup, it grows weepy and ponderous.

And when Your fire sweeps through –

first, a searing pain, then burned rubble

from which to look out sheepishly upon the world.

But, You promised us, You promised Your presence  

every moment woven into the heart’s delicate

warp and weft, so pervasively, the rose,

having never set tender foot beyond its vast domain,

                                                           

goes about wailing and weeping

at the absence of its own scent.

O child of God, turn from the world’s enticements

to discover within, the fragrance of God.