Happy Valentine's Day!

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of every day's
Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love with a passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints, -- I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life! -- and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

--Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Click here for some Valentines' Day mad-libs for kids.  Or for older people,  click here to make a fill-in-the-blank love poem.

Yesterday in Arabic class we listened to this song by Dalida called Salma ya Salaama, (Safely with safety).  The lyrics say she went out into the big world, then returned when her first love called and found their love still safe. 

To balance out the cosmos, here is a link to Five Hebrew Love Songs by Eric Whitaker.

A poem about my love for the land of Jerusalem:

I came to this land just a short time ago
To walk in thy footsteps and help my faith grow.
New faces and places have quickly grown dear;
It is good for us to be here.

You carried us safely from the land of the Nile
Through deserts we followed thy pillar of fire.
You lead us to mountains, thy glory drew near.
It is good for us to be here.

We sang thy praises wherever we could,
In chapels of stone and in bowers of wood,
In dark shepherd's fields under stars bright and clear.
It is good for us to be here.

As dew from heaven, thy grace makes me whole.
Thy living word like a spring feeds my soul.
Thy voice calms my heart when the storm clouds appear.
It is good for us to be here.

When my path through the valley is rocky and steep.
You seek me and cradle me like a lost sheep.
You were crushed for my sins in Gethsemane,
And your love still rescues me.

Now my pilgrimage comes to an end,
In the land of my brother, my Savior, my friend.
Throughout every season and each passing year
In my heart, I will always be here.