Reimburse Love Poem by Bernedita Rosinha Pinto

The echoes of love
you can hear them
from everywhere
from afar and above
from under and near
from the north or the south
from the east or the west
from over the seas and skies
as long as love has a motive, a reason
as long as ears cling to the sound of echo,
gravity of love always brings man home to unity;

love always keeps echoing loud and wide
from atop the hills and mountains
from the ravines and valleys below,
beckoning families to come together
to share and care for each other
in moments of happiness and despair
as love keeps echoing silently within each heart
but with a certainty so profound
that those who belong to each other
never lose their custody over it;

lovers and spouses,
families and children
assemble together so swiftly
just like lightening,
when yearning triggers a longing
and brings hearts home
without delay or definition
when custom and tradition
assigns actions and reactions
assuring a time to sing and enjoy,
or a time to weep and sorrow;

and just as one gets closer to the other,
strength and courage fills in their lungs
just like a river running into an ocean,
a sense of jubilation,
a sense of security sparks,
calming down the perils of emotions
but as distance and direction
keeps repeating reasons and seasons
of pulling one another away
from each other, again and again
due to work commitments and locations,
parents begin to miss their children
husbands and wives begin to miss each other,
lovers begin to feel their heartaches
when they cannot hug or hold
or inter-act with each other;

and though time and tears may roll back
the pain of separation,
the new place allots its grace
to those who have moved on
yet the echoes of love keep vibrating
so loud and clear that
though no voices speak
no words are heard or read
the heart resonates it's command-
ordering others to accept, believe
and rush back to those arms
who pine to hug them;

and just as a child misses his teacher
and waits to get back to school
to his classroom, to his friends,
and just as a devotee sings those hymns
to elevate his sense of belief
and urges others to sing with him
to promote unity and togetherness in worship,
love also is a worship that summons man
who dwells away from his family
to choose, to plan and travel back those miles
to reimburse that love to those
who gave him love when he needed it.