I was asked to officiate a dear friend's wedding. To honor this request I began a study on Love. For months I read ancient spiritual texts, memorized poetry from Eastern and Western cultures, and made "love" the topic of conversation.

During this love-study I interviewed friends and family, neighboring passengers on flights, and passerby. I fielded stories of passion and partnership, broken hearts and devastation, collecting countless stories of romance, grief and regret.

As the wedding day approached I began to coalesce these learnings. One morning this poem made its way to the page with a certain insistence about love's faithfulness, demanding that love does abide.

Abide : transitive verb

to bear patiently : TOLERATE

to endure without yielding : WITHSTAND

to wait for : AWAIT

to accept without objection : ACCEPT

A Stubborn Old Thing

Love stays

Love remains

Love abides

Even when we try to hide

Storing our shame somewhere out of sight

Even when we fear its light

Love remains

That’s its name

Since the beginning of time

And in the bitterest of ends

When we make amends

Do the hurting and are hurt my friends

When loved ones leave

When life brings us to our knees

So much pain we cannot see

Love abides

Surrounds us on all sides

When we are drowning

It carries us to the shore

Determined that we are meant for more

And here is where life and Love

must marry

In your heart Love planted a seed

to carry

It’s been there all the while

Watered by a child’s smile

Though weeds of life try to choke

Love is growing up that seed

of hope

Love hopes

That’s is most favorite action

Brings love tremendous satisfaction

The audacity to hope in the face of despair

I’m telling Love ain’t going nowhere

Dipped its pen in hope to write your story

To teach you of Love’s future glory

Trust me there is no where you can hide

Because Love demands to stay right by your side

That’s its nature, it’s a stubborn old thing

Grown determined to abide through all of life’s stings

Finds you downcast and lifts you upon its wings

Relentlessly mending your broken heart’s strings

Love has promised you a future and a hope

Love abides

When you think you can no longer cope

Love abides

At the end of your rope

Love abides

Given up faith in tomorrow’s promise

No way you can harness

The means to believe in one more chance

No longer willing to get up and do this dance

It’s right then, when your vision ain’t quite clear

Yes my dear, that’s when Love has drawn near

Love abides