Hearts weighed and tested

Cliff - Near DuPont Lodge - Cumberland Falls, KY

Here is a poem by Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin
 

I Loved You Once - Poem

I loved you once, nor can this heart be quiet;

For it would seem that love still lingers there;

But do not you be further troubled by it;

I would in no wise hurt you, oh, my dear.

I loved you without hope, a mute offender;

What jealous pangs, what shy despairs I knew!

A love as deep as this, as true, as tender,

God grant another may yet offer you.


This is but one of many translations from his Russian.  What a very human expression!
This is the work one does in time and at Christmas time.
Not every Christmas is beautiful or fulfilling or warm.
But we work it out.   


Perhaps I am stronger than I think.
Thomas Merton