i don’t believe in
soul mates,
The One,
you complete me,
i’ve been waiting for a girl like you,
a feeling deep in your soul says you were half now you’re whole.
but i did have a dream once:
i stood outside my childhood home
and a party buzzed and clattered within.
and my guide (faceless person)
said my soul mate was inside.
i wandered slowly,
scrutinizing each face:
is it you?
hmm… no.
let’s see… no.
maybe? no.
ewwwww! no!
at first, i was unhurried;
later, i grew troubled:
the crowd had thinned,
maybe he’d left,
while i was wasting my time
with my who’s who
of what-might-have-beens-and-thankfully-weren’t.
in the last room
he turned,
you turned,
and smiled,
plaid shirt and jeans.
(where are your glasses?)
and the great thing about dreams is,
you get to be surprised
by the predictable.
i woke up, and the dream,
everything,
vaporized; i was bereft,
but a miracle happened—
you didn’t disappear.
i believe in
choices, experiences,
quiet over breakfast,
a hello at the end of the day,
the heaven in ordinary things,
and this dream.
but i don’t believe in soul mates—
although if i did,
you’d be it.
Happy Birthday, dear R.
14 Responses to “i don’t believe in soul mates”
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I second that emotion…Happy B’day, dear R and check your email for an Amazon present….
This made me cry. I am glad that you have one another. The blessing is being able to roll over and hear the other person snore. Happy b-day R.
Most men are happy with shirts and CDs for birthdays. You’re totally setting the standard higher here! Lovely
this would be nice framed w/ a photo of r in a plaid shirt and jeans w/o his glasses.
thanks for sharing it w/ us.
How beautiful!
Happy Birthday, R!!
PPB that’s funny! Because he got shirts and an ipod (he says he was the last geek on the planet to get one).
Anne, when I met R in college his ‘uniform’ consisted of jeans and white T-shirts with plaid button-downs over them, unbuttoned and untucked. And he didn’t have glasses then. Apparently that’s still my subconscious image of R.
Beautiful. Happy birthday, R!
Well, I’m not sure where I stand on the soul mate issue. I’m not one who really believes that “there is someone for everyone”. I’ve just seen too many lonely people out there.
I do believe that your souls grow together as you spend time with each other. Having had one marriage that failed, I know that is not always the case. It just makes it more incredible that this one has.
If you ever have a citrus plant, you will learn that they have “root stock” and “fruit stock”. Plants with hardy roots put out rough fruit and plants with good fruit tend to have roots prone to disease. Thus, a good horticulturist will grow a good root bulb, cut back the plant, then graft a fruit stock on top of it. The result is a vigorously growing tree that is resistant to disease and puts forth sweet fruit.
However, you will occassionally have a growth erupt below the graft point. Oddly enough, this is called a “sucker”. It gets this name because it will literally suck all of the growth energy out of the fruit stock and put it into the eruption. You have to prune it quickly or you’ll miss a whole year’s worth of fruit.
That’s sort of my idea of marriage. You plant some strong roots and graft a fruitful partnership on top of it. Occassionally, there are eruptions that will threaten the health of the whole tree. If you prune it, you will have season after season of fruitful marriage. If not, you are in for hard times.
Oddly enough, this is also my spouse’s birthday. Good things (and God things) perhaps happen in bunches.
May the love you have for each other never be contained in the confines of your heart; and may it always find a home in the heart of your mate.
XT
Birthday blessings R,
Not sure where I am on soulmates,
but I do know that, much to my chagrin, I don’t have an I-Pod, so there’s at least one geek left who has to lug around a portable CD player.
Happy Birthday, R! I just gave W an ipod mini for his birthday two weeks ago. Are we and ChicagoRev really the only three geeks who do not have one? Or do our spouses’ by default carry over?
BTW, I do believe in soul mates, just not one per passenger. I think they can and do come to us as lovers, friends, etc….They are people who nurture, nourish and honor our souls and provide companionship along the journey.
Thank you for sharing this beautiful poem.
Happy B-Day, R!
Amazing poem, RM, and thank you for sharing it with us.
Happy B-day, R. Great poem. I don’t do soul mates either.
And, for the record: IPod? I don’t need no stinkin’ IPod!
Happy late birthday R! Hope your ipod experience is all you hoped for an more. ha ha!