Poem

Touched by An Angel~ Maya Angelou

We, unaccustomed to courage
exiles from delight
live coiled in shells of loneliness
until love leaves its high holy temple
and comes into our sight
to liberate us into life.

Love arrives
and in its train come ecstasies
old memories of pleasure
ancient histories of pain.
Yet if we are bold,
love strikes away the chains of fear
from our souls.

We are weaned from our timidity
In the flush of love's light
we dare be brave
And suddenly we see
that love costs all we are
and will ever be.
Yet it is only love
which sets us free.

           I chose this poem because I think it has a very real message and can speak to anyone. The poem can relate to anyone. I like this poem because of the meaning that I found in it when i read it. No matter how many times you read it, the same message comes across the same.  In the first stanza the line " live coiled in shells of loneliness until love leaves its high holy temple", spoke to me. This line to me means thats until we find love in somebody or something we live a lonely life. Basically saying that love defines us in every way it can. It does not nesscarily mean that it has to be in a person but in something. Maybe a passion for writing, just something. The second stanza is where I found the true meaning of the poem. When your in love it is not going to be all good times. There will be good times and bad times. Every relationship has it's rough patches but you have to work through it and make it work.  There is no greater feeling than the feeling of love and hopefully everyone has the opportunity to experience it in life. To me that is what this poem is about.