Love and Light

"Oh, the flames they followed Joan of Arc
As she came riding through the dark.
No moon to keep her armor bright,
No man to get her through this dark and smoky night.

She said, 'I'm tired of war,
I want the kind of work I had before.
A wedding dress - or something white
To wear upon my swollen appetite.'

'Well, I'm glad to hear you talk this way.
I've watched you riding every day.
And there's something in Me that yearns to win
Such a cold, such a lonesome heroine.'

'And who are you?' she sternly spoke
to the One beneath the smoke.

'Why, I'm Fire', he replied,
And I love your solitude and I love your pride!'

'Well then, Fire make your body cold,
I''m going to give you mine to hold.'

And saying this she climbed inside to be his one, to be his only bride.

Then deep into his fiery heart
He took the dust of Joan of Arc
And high above all these wedding guests
He hung the ashes of her lovely wedding dress.

It was deep into his fiery heart
he took the dust of Joan of Arc,
And then she clearly understood
If He was Fire, oh, then she must be wood!

I saw her wince, I saw her cry;
I saw the glory in her eye.
Myself I long for love and light
But must it come so cruel, must it be so bright?"

by Leonard Cohen

There was a time when I would have read this and prayed for Love and Light. Not any more. I'll take it if it comes, if it is given, but I won't ask for it. As Jesus said, "You don't have a clue what you are asking for" (or something like that.)