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Beloved, what do you want of me? by Marguerite Porete (1260? - 1310) Timeline English version by Peter Drunke Christian : Catholic 13th Century Beloved, what do you want of me? I contain all that was, and that is, and shall be, I am filled with the all. Take of me all you please -- if you want all of myself, I'll not say no. Tell me, beloved, what you want of me -- I am Love, who am filled with the all: what you want, we want, beloved -- tell us your desire nakedly     -- from Women in Praise of the Sacred: 43 Centuries of Spiritual Poetry by Women, Edited by Jane Hirshfield Amazon.com   / Photo by Hulagway /	Themes   Lover and Beloved         Recommended Books Christian Mystics: Their Lives and Legacies throughout the Ages, by Ursula King Marguerite Porete: Mirror of Simple Souls (Classics of Western Spirituality), by Ellen Babinsky Meister Eckhart and the Beguine Mystics: Hadewijch of Brabant, Mechthild of Magdeburg, and Marguerite Porete, by Bernard Mcginn Sacred Voices: Essential Women's Voices Through the Ages, Edited by Mary Ford-Grabowsky The Soul as Virgin Wife: Mechthild of Magdeburg, Marguerite Porete, and Meister Eckhart, by Amy M. Hollywood More >>
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Commentary by Ivan M. Granger

This is the way of it -- the terrifying, shattering, exhilarating, total yielding that opens us to true union with the Eternal.

Take of me all you please --
if you want all of myself, I'll not say no.

This is the fierce courage that every saint and sage has found. "Take anything, everything, even my very life, but give me Yourself!" This is the daring prayer of the great peaceworkers and social healers, and of every lover of God.

To reach out this way while remaining free from fear, requires both subtle balance and iron determination, for it throws us into direct conflict with the ego-self's constant assertion that it is the most important thing in the universe. We are forced to step beyond such an impoverished sense of ourselves. Before we can let go of our littleness, we must recognize our immensity:

I am Love, who am filled with the all...

Only then can we say honestly, and with total confidence to that Eternal Presence--

what you want,
we want, beloved --
tell us your desire nakedly

Ivan M. Granger's original poetry, stories and commentaries are Copyright © 2002 - 2011 by Ivan M. Granger.
All other material is copyrighted by the respective authors, translators and/or publishers.