Pursuit Without Demand
For M.G.M.
Two months now since you mentioned that creation—
That carrying to term and labor of the mind’s conception—
Was similar, somehow, to falling into love.
I conceived—and promised you this piece
Of my own careful carrying and thought; and I assumed
That it would spring at being, when I bid, full-formed…
Like Pallas bursting from her father’s skull.
There is some precedent: sometimes my pen leaps to scratch upon a page;
Betimes, the labor comes hard on the falling of thought’s shadow;
But, this time—and often truth be told—thought would not be induced
To take a form so quickly; so I held back Vulcan’s hammer for a spell.
It was meet, the patience that I practiced, since therein
Exists the very parallel it lacked at the beginning
Your contention, once expressed in passion, was that Love’s best gift is always time;
Too true! And is it not the case that each act of creation or romance
Remains, down at its deepest root, a work of Love?
So small surprise, said similarity,
For in both spheres time is the foremost offering,
Though tailored to both need and nature of its object
As regards the manner of the giving; tailored, too,
By nature, need, proclivity of lover…
So we, loving, give our time in such a way as seems
Best to our infirm sight so that we might
Participate and glory in Creation.
Edit on 11/15/2025 to correct minor typo
You’ll be grateful for the warmth come the looming nuclear winter, so why not