Love loves love
The hoof loves the ground
because it's there
always
and yet always
changes
at her touch.
They begin to look
like one another,
the hoof and the snow-covered ground.
Soon, anyone passing the mark
the hoof leaves in the snow says,
Look, a deer.
Listen to a podcast of this poem, here.
This poem is part of One Stop Poetry's
A Saturday Celebration: St. Valentine's Day
Click on the link above to read more poems devoted to love.
I am adding Sting's rendition of "My One and Only Love" today, Sunday, but still in time for Valentine's Day. The video includes artistic representations of Cupid (Eros) and Psyche through history. Lovely!
Lovely verse. Very emotive.
ReplyDeleteCoffee please!
Drop by at mine when you are free, help yourself to a drink!
http://pensrandomjottings.blogspot.com/2011/02/st-valentines-day.html
Thanks, Penny, cream or sugar? Oh, it's Valentine's Day almost, definitely sugar.
ReplyDeleteOh, I just love it. I'll have to show it to David. The picture is perfect, too.
ReplyDeleteHappy Valentine's Day, my dear friend!
lovely...have quite a many deer that slip through here...bur dear are much more rare...smiles.
ReplyDeleteSusie, oh I'm glad you like it. Can you believe that heart-shaped hoof print? I was excited when I spotted it about a month ago. Happy Love Day, my dear. xoxo
ReplyDeleteThanks, Brian. Yes, more rare and precious.
ReplyDeleteNice, as though the mark we make might be of its own doing as is the deer's print. Wonderful relationships.
ReplyDeleteI hiked deep into the woods yesterday, my summer route now under snow and silence, all about me, deer tracks.
Happy V to you.
xo
erin
Erin, there is something in that silence, when the deer are not around, but their presence is there, the mystery of how the tracks appear somewhat known, but never seen.
ReplyDeleteSusan has written what I was going to. I just love this poem.
ReplyDeleteYou know Ruth, I've heard the saying that when a couple have spent enough years together, they begin to grow more alike in looks. Your wonderful poem and photo here remind me of that. I particularly enjoy your phrase: "... because it's there always, and yet always changes at her touch." Molding together. "... and the two shall become one." That is love. Thank you, Ruth, and Happy Valentine's Day to you!
ReplyDeleteThe deer footprint filled in with snow in the shape of a heart. Heartfelt sentiment.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Arti. Don't you love seeing elderly couples like that? Their movements even seem in tandem, their body shapes, their clothes. I find it so sweet. Happy Valentine's Day, my friend.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your visit, Gerry. I find the photo a bit of an optical illusion: Is there a depression, or a mound?
ReplyDeleteCait, thank you so much.
ReplyDeleteThank you, OldSchoolHaiku.
ReplyDeletePerfect. I feel like a deer, I'll just paw the ground here a while mutely and appreciatively.
ReplyDeleteHi Ruth, first things first, i never got to comment on the D post. The commercial was stunning and i hope that it will inspire. My husband friends and i have always enjoyed the city. We have attended many of the yearly concerts, events in the D. Now my kids continue the tradition. I worry, then i remember i did/ do the same. You just have to be smart and watch your surroundings.... sigh. I hope your wish comes true and that someday we can take our grandchildren to the city. Unfortunately most of the city's beautiful historical buildings and homes are destroyed:(
ReplyDeleteNow about love. We do get in the love groove as time passes. Funny thing, lately i have been noticing how people kiss, as a response to say an accomplishment or as a thank you. I must say i find the full mouth kissers the most interesting and for sure the most passionate. I wonder about them, how passionate they must be and so able to give,share and yes love.
xoxo from your Irish/Mexican cheek kissing, soon to be mouth kissing friend... xoxocb. ( geeze i hope this makes sense and i dont sound to dirty!:))
Lorenzo, we have many deer here at the farm, and lately they have come up by the house, pawing around in the bird seed that we scatter for . . . well, birds. It's like love, isn't it? It is there to be felt by the ones who find it.
ReplyDeleteCathy, you know Detroit well. You live it and breathe it, love it too. The more we do there, the better for the city.
ReplyDeleteYour observations about kissing friends is something I notice too. I am open to all of it (Inge and I greet sometimes cheek, sometimes mouth -- she is German, is that why? ) and find myself awkwardly trying to figure out which way the person I am greeting with a kiss wants it done. :)
Lovely! This poem has a stillness about it that characterizes some of the best moments of love between two people. Happy Valentine's Day!
ReplyDeleteLove is everywhere, isn't it?
ReplyDeletePeace, hp
Such a delightful poem and your reading of it is wonderful. A very bright spot in my morning, Ruth.
ReplyDeleteI looked at the photo a few times wondering if it was raised or not.
ReplyDeleteYou have brought beauty to my morning , Ruth,
and I thank you for it always.
Love is everything. It is.
What I think is cool is you captured the heart shaped footprint a month ago, savoured it and let it express itself through your delightful poem today!
ReplyDeleteLove your reading of it too!
There is such loveliness in both the photo and your words, Ruth... Thank you dearly :)
ReplyDeleteLove the poem.
ReplyDeleteVery nice.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Karla. Yes. I suppose the "point" of the poem is that something new is created from the love-meeting, something that is neither the one nor the other, is sort of both combined, and is something else altogether. When you look at the hoof print, it is not the deer at all, yet . . . we would say, look, a deer.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful, dear Valentine:) The footprint and the foot...
ReplyDeletethis is lovely ruth..
ReplyDeletedidn't manage to have a look at your blog before and now i stumble upon it on my one stop read and think..is this maybe the ruth from the rilke blog..? and it is...nice
Oh, love-ly and perfect! The imprint and the bond...and yet always/changes/at her touch
ReplyDeleteHappy Valentines's Day to you and your dear!
I love the oneness that the ground and the hoof share and the heart gets to play with the two
ReplyDeletethanks for your visit to my site and for sharing with One Stop
Pete is under the weather so I lowered my voice half an octave - smiles
Wonderful, Ruth-- really like the wit and simplicity. Love your work on Rilke as well. xxxJenne'
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful! Happy Valentine's Day!
ReplyDeleteThank you for Wendell Berry's quote. It feels as though a piece of my heart was grafted in those words.
ReplyDeleteYour talent for pulling together so much and serving it as one puts me in awe.
Many thanks, Ruth.
Well a deer - or maybe, since it's Valentine Weekend - a dear!
ReplyDeleteHow lovely. That's a hoof print?
ReplyDeleteAn interesting symbiosis, hoof and the ground it touches. A new image to tickle our brain and our sentiments.
ReplyDeleteThe poem speaks loudly.
Ruth, I'm without words (nearly!). This is my favorite poem of yours you've ever written! I love the double meanings, elusiveness and yet clarity of thought.
ReplyDeleteThank you, I'm enraptured!
Short and sweet & conveys so much - love it!
ReplyDeleteHi, hpicasso, I feel it! Thanks.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Maureen, and your kind comment brightened mine.
ReplyDeleteDeb, and what did you decide, raised or not raised?
ReplyDeleteLove. Beauty. Love=Beauty.
xoxo
Louise, we lovers with cameras in our hands have to look out for these things, even when we're getting our morning "constitutional". :-) Thanks so much. Happy Love Day.
ReplyDeleteMore Than Meets the I, thank you for your lovely comment. Have a wonderful, loving day.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad, Bruce, thanks so much.
ReplyDeleteHi, Sandy, thanks and have a love-ly day.
ReplyDeleteOliag, hearts find a way. ;-)
ReplyDeleteThank you and welcome, Claudia. Yes, this is home, glad you found me.
ReplyDeleteds, thanks, my friend. Happy Valentine's Day to you and yours too. xo
ReplyDeletemoondustwriter, thank you. And thanks for One Stop. I hope Pete recovers quickly.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jen. I'm glad you visited so kindly, and at the Rilke blog too. Your work is truly fine.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Loring, Happy Love Day!
ReplyDeleteAmy, thank you for your kind words, especially since sometimes I feel I have to rein in my reach. :-)
ReplyDeleteBarb, clever lady! :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Babs. Yep. I found it about a month ago while I was taking my walk. I had to run in for the camera.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Rosaria. Love is all around. I hope your day is warm and loving.
ReplyDeleteTerresa, I am touched and happy to hear you say that, very much.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Dana. Happy Valentine's Day to you.
ReplyDeleteThe real hoof print is really something ... and you saved it for the day! The symbolic hoof prints can also be nice!
ReplyDeleteTalking about love, I loved your previous post about Detroit ... and left a very late comment!
Happy Valentine!
So much more than meets the eye and ear, Ruth. This is one of my favorites of yours.
ReplyDeleteBut I still can't see that the hoofprint isn't raised. Phooey.
May your Valentine's Day spill over with love, Ruth, and leave its trace always.
ReplyDeleteSuch a large truth in so few words - what an elegant poem. We're led to the the little gasp at the end as clearly as if we were following tracks in the snow.
ReplyDeleteVery nice, Ruth. Deer are so special. We've had many this winter. Happy V-Day to you and anyone else around. xx
ReplyDeleteBonjour, Peter! Bonne Saint Valentin!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you loved my love for Detroit, and I loved your comments! :-)
J.G., I'm glad, because I like it too. :-)
ReplyDeleteYou are not the only one who can't see the sunken hoof print. It's strange! Maybe it's because of the speck in the middle, contributing to the illusion.
Thank you, Deborah. Much love to you.
ReplyDeletePauline, thank you very much, I'm glad you connected with my little Valentine poem.
ReplyDeleteHi, Tess! Thank you. Yes, our states have a lot this year, and we see them out more looking for something to eat in all this cold and snow. Happy Love Day to you and yours!
ReplyDeleteThis may be my favorite poem by you. It is true, eloquent, simple, and fabulously illustrated.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful way to honor Valentine's Day and love. I am so smiling right now.
Such fun (the photo)
ReplyDeleteSuch beauty (the poem)
Such wonderful putting-it-all-togetherness!(you, the writer and compiler)
Happy Valentine's Day to you as well!
PS That ole Sting - he does a lot, doesn't he? remarkable.
Perfectly simple..and absolutely sweet. Happy Valentine's Day!!!
ReplyDeleteI wish you a Happy Valentine's Day !!!
ReplyDeleteIt's a beautiful poem and a perfect picture.
ReplyDeleteHapppy Valentines Day Ruth
Jeanie, thank you so very much, my friend. Have a beautiful day with Rick.
ReplyDeleteOh, thank you for such kind things said.
ReplyDeleteYes, I like how Sting brings a light touch to standards like "My One and Only Love."
Happy Valentine's Day.
Thank you, Marcie!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Sidney, enjoy a day of love!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Dusti. Happy Valentine's Day to you and your girls. And the doggies.
ReplyDeleteIt's raining today here in Holland, Ruth, so now is when I can appropriately say it's a 'rain-dear' sort of day for the two of us. :)
ReplyDeleteVery interesting, well-organized blog to which I want to return.
ReplyDeleteBest wishes
What a great find this hoof print is! You were on high alert to have noticed it!
ReplyDeleteLove the poem.
"They begin to look
like one another,
the hoof and the snow-covered ground."
So do old couples who've been together for a lifetime.
Thanks for sharing the beautiful images paired with Sting's music.
Happy Valentine's Day, dear Ruth!
Love the poem! Happy Valentine's Day :D Hope you have a beautiful day Ruth!
ReplyDeletethank you for the love, the love you always show me.
ReplyDeletexo
Ruth happy Valentines day to you too!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful poem and thank you for sharing dear. Anna :)
Boots, awww. :-)
ReplyDeleteWelcome and thank you, FP!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Dutchbaby. Happy Valentine's Day to you, my friend.
ReplyDeleteHi, Tiffany! Thank you, and you too.
ReplyDeleteHello, Christina, yes, much love and gratitude.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Anna! Big hugs to you and Matthew.
ReplyDeleteWow. How did I miss this post? I guess John must have been "wooing" me. Ha!
ReplyDeleteI SO loved the statues in the video. Some of the paintings really made me laugh, others were very thought provoking. Nicely done, hope you had a wonderful February 14th.