by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of everyday's
Most quiet needs, by sun and candlelight.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints--I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life!--and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.
***
I believe it's possible to love another person so deeply that God could choose to allow that love to transcend death. Is it possible to measure this kind of love here on earth? Probably not while the loving is taking place--throughout the rise and fall and rise of life's moments, days, and years. It can be difficult to measure something that is often intangible or while it's in the course of full steam ahead.
Falling in love hurtles us to an unrealistic height, and we are often blinded by expectations of perfection. But love eventually flutters softly to the mortal ground, and, once there, it makes a decision: can true love grow here? As life takes hold, the glistering gold of new love settles into a gentle and knowing look, touch, smile.
I am fortunate to have weathered the inevitable descent of new love and to embrace the steady growth of true love. Loving someone for better or for worse, in sickness and in health is easy to say during a moment of emotional promise making. Fulfilling those promises takes a special courage and strength that can only come from God. Everyday life can be love's cruel enemy and intimate friend all in the same breath. But, through God, true and everlasting love will persevere and win the race. Only then can we look back on a lifetime of smiles and tears and confidently say, "How do I love thee? Let me count the ways."
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