When misunderstanding shakes rattles rolls off the tongue
And harsh meets abrasive in the middle of the ear canal
Where unintended unfurls rough and callous, words always words
When gruff and course mingle and moan and say the things, broken through the filter,
Broken through love
When she says and they say and we say and she doesn’t say
And it all falls down
With a bruise and a bump and a scar
And love is left on the sidelines
Love is a latchkey child
Left in a shadow waiting to love ,the verb
Left on the bench, injured but the action verb wants to get in the game
And be patient be kind
Just be
Where pride puffs up and the battle is fought and pride puffs up some more
While the battle plays on but the war has just begun
And love love love
Is all you need
And holds tight and he slips through and she holds tight and
He holds tight
And you never give up
They are children
We are all children
Children of the Most High
Then why is it hard
When the me and the we and the I
Fight for the leading role
And its my way or the highway, love
Bends in humility
Love keeps no record of wrongs and the love verb
Is quick to forgive.
To the moon and back
Till death do us part
On this side of eternity
Love hard
Love very hard
I do
I will
Love hard back
Forever
This is my solemn vow
By grace, by gosh, by golly
Love is all you need
Praying hard
Loving Hard
Praying and loving hard.
Linking with Jennifer and Duane and Ann and Emily and with Joy, with joy.
Also linking with Mary Beth and over at Women Living Well
elizabeth w. marshall 
wow… such good writing… and very deep on many levels.
Blessings on your day, Sharon. wishing you Grace, Elizabeth
Beautiful Elizabeth…especially the photos! 🙂
Friend, I am grateful. Pressing on in love, praying on in love, because of Him.
I “love” this tapestry of words and feelings. We need to love hard, as you say. It’s a good reminder for me today!
AWWW. thank you. I am humbled (blush :))So so nice to meet you.
Great words about love and lovely pictures as well, have a blessed week!
I am so happy you visited, so nice to see you here. Thank you for your kind comment, Rachel. Wishing you His Grace until we meet up again, at Emily’s or before. Peace.
Love this friend! I can really hear the struggle in your words.
God is thankfully in charge. And I trusting Him to work in the hearts of us all. Me, especially 🙂 Love His grace. Thanks for the link up. Thanks for visiting here, friend.
Oh, you must have young adults, and you love them hard and I do, too. Blessed by the flow and the struggle and the solemn resolve in your words.
this phrase “Love is a latchkey child” hit me hard…maybe because I was one…so encouraged by how you kept going in your poem till love won the hard battle…blessings, my friend 🙂
I love the rhythm of the words.
By grace, by gosh, by golly … Praying and loving hard.
Beautiful, Elizabeth, and AMEN to that!
Why is it that this wisdom is so hard to lean into in the heated moment? But love does cover a multitude of sins…
love bends…i’m gonna keep that thought with me for a while. yes, please.
Oh, this is amazingly beautiful. It really got a little more emotional for me at the end–wonderful, wonderful ending. You really took it somewhere startling gorgeous. Blessings, Elizabeth.
What a great conclusion.
Incredible! I love the thought that we are all children of the Most High. I forget when looking in the mirror after an argument and chiding myself for my childish behavior, that the One I turn to sees me as His child. great words, thank you. DAF
Love goes on a cross, in agony spilling precious blood, for the sake of someone else. This is the only reference I have for hard love & I don’t quite fathom it. Love & prayers, in Jesus, Cynhtia
Oh friend, YES YES that is it. That is the hard to wrap our head around but TRUTH. He loves us in the place of “agony spilling” daily. Oh your words stir my heart in a deep place. Love and prayers to you. So much love and so many prayers to you. What a fragrant offering. Your words are worship to Him. And I am there to worship beside you. Humbled that you were here. Grateful that you were here.
What a cool saying, the one about loving hard. Well done, friend.
Not sure if my comment went through? … I wanted to try again, anyway, to let you know how much I appreciated this, especially that very cool quote about loving hard.
Yes, yes thank you for both. So overjoyed to see your smiling face over here friend. That you are here is gift.
Love is a latchkey child
Left in a shadow waiting to love ,the verb
Left on the bench, injured but the action verb wants to get in the game
And be patient be kind
Just be
oh friend. as always, left breathless and reeling. sharing this. bless you.
Emily, thank you. And for sharing on FB thank you too. Bless you too, friend.
Lovely poem – you describe this kind of tension so well. k.
So nice to have you over here at my place. Love that you slowed down and left words of encouragement. Grateful.