As a poetic "take" on this whole discussion about love among spiritual men stripped of its spiritual trappings, might I remind FFLers of one of the greatest classics of devotional love in the history of spiritual poetry?
That is St. John of the Cross' magnificent poem "The Dark Night Of The Soul." Its beauty has inspired seekers since it was written in the 16th century. It has been discussed and debated from many angles, most of them stressing the symbolic nature of St. John's tale of secret moments of stolen love in the shadows of a Spanish monastery. Most "spiritual" people tend to interpret the poem as metaphor, the lover met in secret being really God, and the union between the two lovers so beautifully captured by St. John a mystical union of man and God. Of all the translations of this poem, I prefer the one done by Loreena McKennitt, to transform it into music. She retained in her version the possibility of interpreting the poem as metaphor, but by stressing the sensuality of the metaphors she *also* clear made possible the fact that the poem could be *literal*, the simple story of St. John himself sneaking out of the monastery at night for an assignation with a more worldly lover. Because Loreena is a woman, when she sings "Within my pounding heart / which kept itself entirely for him," it allows us to see the poem in a new light, as possibly a love song for a woman, not just a love song for God. But the most fascinating thing is that the poem was written by a man, and the use of "him" was in the original poem. And, given what we know of the actual life of San Juan de la Cruz, it is far more likely that if he was really writing in a Godly fashion about an earthly love affair, he was writing about meeting another monk under the stars, not a woman. For your entertainment and pondering, the song (in a live video performance) and the lyrics: The Dark Night Of The Soul http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MclLF473XtA Upon a darkened night the flame of love was burning in my breast And by a lantern bright I fled my house while all in quiet rest Shrouded by the night and by the secret stair I quickly fled The veil concealed my eyes while all my house lay quiet as the dead Chorus Oh night thou was my guide oh night more loving than the rising sun Oh night that joined the lover to the beloved one transforming each of them into the other Upon that misty night in secrecy, beyond such mortal sight Without a guide or light than that which burned so deeply in my heart That fire t'was led me on and shone more bright than of the midday sun To where he waited still it was a place where no one else could come Chorus Within my pounding heart which kept itself entirely for him He fell into his sleep beneath the cedars all my love I gave And by the fortress walls the wind would brush his hair against his brow And with its smoothest hand caressed my every sense it would allow Chorus I lost myself to him and laid my face upon my lovers breast And care and grief grew dim as in the mornings mist became the light There they dimmed amongst the lilies fair There they dimmed amongst the lilies fair There they dimmed amongst the lilies fair
