Love Poetry

Available for 29 days

Today marks the first anniversary of the death of Michael Longley, a towering figure among poets from Northern Ireland, whose work stood as a humane counter to much of the troubled history of his native Belfast. For those of us who have been deeply affected by his work, Longley seems as much at home in describing birds and wildflowers, the aftermath of terrorism, or the internal lives of young soldiers in World War I. This variety is suffused with a constant note of tenderness and a posture of grace and humility towards the beauty and horror of the world we live in. In an interview with Jody Allen Randolph, Longley reflected on the unifying centre of his work, saying ‘Love poetry is at the core of the enterprise – the hub of the wheel from which the other preoccupations radiate like spokes…I wouldn’t mind being remembered as a love poet’. On this anniversary day, readers of his poetry can affirm that Longley’s ambition in this regard was well and truly fulfilled. When it comes to love, the Christian gospel has this reality at its very core. It palpitates with the divine and gracious love of God who sends his Son as Saviour, it sheds that love abroad in hearts by the Spirit of God, and it enjoins those who follow Jesus to a life whose love encompasses all –those who are like us and those who are not, those who hold us as friends and those who count us as enemies. Heavenly Father, we adore and bless you for the burning heart of love at the centre of your gospel. Thank you for your love perfectly expressed in the life and death of your Son, Jesus. Thank you for the work of poets, living and dead, who remind us of the need to let love do its work in the world. Help us to keep love at the heart of the whole enterprise of living. In Jesus’ name, Amen.