Looking at love

14th. Today is love talk day. Not the soppy kind, definitely not pedantic, and I will try not to be foolishly hopeful either. Just observations. 

But as I sit down to write this, words seem inadequate. I have been trying, writing and deleting it all. When it comes to love, so much has already been said, understood and ignored. Words can sometimes be too restrictive. So this year, let me bring you something to look at instead. 

I found an old Arabic treatise and an Egyptian manuscript with beautiful illustrations. Art speaks to us in many different ways. Perhaps you will find what it is trying to say.

love,

comes

unexpectedly

in all shapes and kinds

13th-century Arabic treatise by Zakariya al-Qazwini

as

floating halves

hoping seeking and swiping

13th-century Arabic treatise by Zakariya al-Qazwini

we fly with fish

and willingly drown

13th-century Arabic treatise by Zakariya al-Qazwini

soft eyes of the beast

nails, flesh and no sleep

Egyptian Kalīlah wa Dimnah, 1310

between us

walls, silence and other things

Egyptian Kalīlah wa Dimnah, 1310

madness has a quiet way

13th-century Arabic treatise by Zakariya al-Qazwini

alone, together

love feels the same

Persian book of astrology, 1921

will you find me again 

in a different time

another place...

8th-century Arabic fables of Ibn al-Muqaffa

Happy Valentines.

I hope you are celebrating. Whether you’re single, double, with your cat, or your coffee. Today is just an excuse to read a little poetry, and feel hopeful.

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