The Steady Eyes of Love

In the steady eyes of Love

You don’t have to be perfect,

noteworthy, masterful,

or even exquisitely well-mannered,

always knowing what to say.

In the steady eyes of Love

You don’t have to feel your best,

dress to impress,

or know just how to handle every issue,

every unwelcome surprise.

In the steady eyes of Love

your failures aren’t as glaring as

the tiny ember forever glowing

somehow against all odds

in your inner hearth.

In the steady eyes of Love

your bad hair day and bad attitude

are really rather unremarkable

compared to the way

you simply keep showing up.

In the steady eyes of Love

you belong.

Completely. Wholly. Holy.

You can relax.

Truly. Fully. Finally.

Never more beautiful than when you’ve been

mucking about in rich dirt,

hanging with the lilies of the field.

Life’s earthy residue looks just right on you,

in the steady eyes of Love.

---

Savannah Kate Coffey

Author’s Note: Recently, I attended a dinner party where I felt the challenging aspects of my humanity had been on display and there was no escape. The following morning, I asked God for a reconciling word and received this poem, discovering again (for at least the millionth time) that humility is such a refuge when held in Love. After writing the poem, I remembered a watercolor that emerged during the 2015 GLP residency retreat weekend on Creativity and the Contemplative Heart. I named it “Mutual Irradiation,” a phrase from Prayers of the Cosmos: Reflecting on the Original Meaning of Jesus’s Words by Neil Douglas-Klotz. My prayer deepens now, eight years later, as I realize this seeing, mirroring, and calling forth in Love is what God and I do for each other, and what I am invited to do for my fellow kindred in this shared adventure of earthy grace. May our eyes be steady in humble Love.