.jpg)
Belief and meaning are the focus of February's show. I wanted to explore different religious ideas, prayers and spirituality when not connected to religion, so there is a mixture of more traditional music and readings with more modern and loosely spiritual.
[i carry your heart with me (i carry it in] BY E. E. CUMMINGS
i carry your heart with me (i carry it in
my heart) i am never without it (anywhere
i go you go, my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing, my darling)
i fear
no fate (for you are my fate, my sweet) i want
no world (for beautiful you are my world, my true)
and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you
here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows
higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart
i carry your heart (i carry it in my heart)
I love this poem because it has a response (in parentheses) and I think the idea of having lots of people respond is very beautiful. I would love to use this in a ceremony either with the couple reading to each other or someone reading and all the guests responding. Of course, it is based on the structure of a prayer, but it does not invoke God - instead, love and the heart are the focus.
Ghazal By Mimi Khalvati
If I am the grass and you the breeze, blow through me.
If I am the rose and you the bird, then woo me.
If you are the rhyme and I the refrain, don’t hang
on my lips, come and I’ll come too when you cue me.
If yours is the iron fist in the velvet glove
when the arrow flies, the heart is pierced, tattoo me.
If mine is the venomous tongue, the serpent’s tail,
charmer, use your charm, weave a spell and subdue me.
If I am the laurel that wreathes your brow, you are
the arms around my bark, arms that never knew me.
Oh would that I were bark! So old and still in leaf.
And you, dropping in my shade, dew to bedew me!
What shape should I take to marry your own, have you –
hawk to my shadow, moth to my flame – pursue me?
If I rise in the east as you die in the west,
die for my sake, my love, every night renew me.
If, when it ends, we are just good friends, be my Friend,
muse, brother and guide, Shamsuddin to my Rumi.
Be heaven and earth to me and I’ll be twice the me
I am, if only half the world you are to me.
The rhythm of this poem makes it really lovely to read and listen to. Like a sonnet, rhyming couplets form this traditional Persian style of poetry called a ghazal, which are usually considered to be divine in nature. I like the way this poem could be about the love of God or about some unrequited love. The fact it could be both raises interesting questions about the nature of love for a spiritual being.
from The Art of Loving by Erich Fromm
Love is the only sane and satisfactory answer to the problem of human existence... Love means to commit oneself without guarantee, to give oneself completely in the hope that our love will produce love in the loved person. Love is an act of faith, and whoever is of little faith is also of little love.
This quotation nods towards to the difficulty we all have in ascertaining the meaning of life. Fromm's suggestion that love is just as much about believing in love itself as finding someone to love, gives the cynics something to think about!
Planting ritual words by Tab Taylor
These two powerful mothers have already started the foundations of a strong family and with their union to each other, they further strengthen the steady footing their children need to flourish.
And now, starting with youngest, I invite each of the children to scatter their wildflower seeds in our garden pot.
These wildflower seeds, all intermingled with each other, will grow strong together, creating a colourful, diverse and wild garden. None of you know which specific flower is from the seed that you scattered, but all of you know that this doesn’t matter because you are one family, working together to sow the seeds of love, care and responsibility for one another. And each year when this garden box blooms, it will have more and more flowers each time, just like how your connections with each other will multiply as you grow as a family.
This is just an example of how I create rituals in ceremonies that represent what the family want to share. Bringing things back to nature is a lovely way to bring people together and it is easy for most people to believe in the beauty of nature, so it is inclusive in that way. All the words I write for ceremonies are inspired by the people the ceremony is for, so they are unique to each family, which is what makes my job so interesting!
The Priest's Speech from Fleabag
Love is awful. It’s awful. It’s painful. It’s frightening. It makes you doubt yourself, judge yourself, distance yourself from the other people in your life. It makes you selfish. It makes you creepy, makes you obsessed with your hair, makes you cruel, makes you say and do things you never thought you would do. It’s all any of us want, and it’s hell when we get there. So no wonder it’s something we don’t want to do on our own. I was taught if we’re born with love then life is about choosing the right place to put it. People talk about that a lot, feeling right, when it feels right, it’s easy. But I’m not sure that’s true. It takes strength to know what’s right. And love isn’t something that weak people do. Being a romantic takes a hell of a lot of hope. I think what they mean is, when you find somebody that you love, it feels like hope.
This is an interesting one because if you've watched the show, you'll know that //spoiler alert// this is when Fleabag is let down and the priest tells her he loves God and can't be with her. The sentiment of these actual words is lovely and I think could work as a reading at a wedding, but it's good to know the ending of the scene! In any case, it really is about love and hope and belief.
On Marriage by Khalil Gibran
You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore.
You shall be together when the white wings of death scatter your days.
Ay, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God.
But let there be spaces in your togetherness,
And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.
Love one another, but make not a bond of love:
Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.
Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup.
Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf
Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone,
Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.
Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping.
For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts.
And stand together yet not too near together:
For the pillars of the temple stand apart,
And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow.
Sharing in love is beautiful, but I also think that you have to make sure you have what you need for yourself and that you don't rely on each other solely for your happiness. Khalil Gibran poignantly describes the bond a married couple have, while at the same time being two separate people who are equal. Being together and being close doesn't mean you have to lose who you are as a person completely. That is why this reading is relevant to anyone's wedding!
As always, you can listen back to this month's show on Mixcloud to catch some of the song selections including Gregorian chants, Balinese music and some music from films! Catch me next month on Tuesday 12th March on Voices Radio.
Comments