Love is my weapon. Not my secret weapon but my actual armor. Though it is abstract, it is my equipment, my shield, the sheath to my sword, and my blade. I’ve been saved through and by love, healed by love and fighting for love.
Hate, my adversary, is constantly trying to break my protection. Hate takes on the form of the ones I love and the people I am constantly surrounded by. I am always at war with Hate and it always wants to find a way to terminate me:
One blow strikes my shield.
Another breaks the blade of my sword.
And the final blow gets rid of any defense I had remaining.
Therefore, I am rid of all I believe in. Hate convincingly whispers in my ear: ”You’re one heck of hypocrite. Just go back to the little barbarian you used to be. Come on, someone else called you the ”N” word: if they put you in a position of pain and segregation, it is your duty to scar them. END them.”
Hate doesn’t know that I am aware of its diabolical contract. I know that Hate wants to embody someone to cause destruction. It’s choosing me. I have no choice to look at it in the eye for my armor of love is completely lost in the battlefield. Hate approaches me thinking it will reign triumphant.
I shake hands with it and I crush it slowly.
”Goodbye, Jealousy.” I whisper. It’s disappearing.
”Goodbye, Fist Fights.” I speak. It’s disappearing.
”Goodbye, Selfishness.” I project. It’s disappearing.
”Goodbye, Hate!” I exclaim. It’s gone.
I am now left in the battlefield where I’ve defeated Hate. I look at my love which is scattered all around me. I see that the remaining pieces of Hate (Jealousy, Wrath, Selfishness, Betrayal, Anger, Rebellion, Racism and Terrorism) slowly pick up the pieces to my loving armor. When they are in contact with the pieces of my armor, they are transformed into beautiful life-changing qualities. They become: Faith, Joy, Perseverance, Compassion, Peace, Patience, Honesty and Loyalty.
They gather around me and form my equipment. These soulful qualities become my equipment. I armed ultimately with love.
Because I am stronger than Hate, I side with LOVE. I am aware that hate is only the absence of love.
Love carries none of the extra stress related conditions that hate calls for. Love comes in different forms. My two favourites: I only know in French. L’amour Agapé (unconditional love) and l’amour continuelle (continuous love). Though I could only think of what I believed in through an imaginary world, I honestly have no better way to explain it. Hate is always trying to get me six feet under but love always finds a way to get to me. With the world as my battlefield, I know that if I am armed with love, and any hate-driven external forces do not have power over me.
Dear Dorlie,
I too feel as though sometimes english cannot explain the boundless love that a person is able to carry within themselves. Your piece truly reflected your beauty and strength as well as the battle you are consistently facing because of world. A battle that you will win.
I truly loved the repetition of the word Goodbye as well as the constantly different words with it that gradually got stronger. It felt as if not only were you grounded and truly sure of yourself. But I had felt grounded as well. Dorlie, you have constantly brought this energy of calmness when I am around you and your piece radiates that as well.
It was when you wrote “Hate doesn’t know that I am aware of its diabolical contract.”, that I truly connected with your piece because Hate is something that can manifest into something more tangent and alive. It doesn’t just stay as a feeling but it can grow tot he point where it’s constantly causing pain. Even physical pain at some point. Being aware and conscious of the hate inside ones self not only shows that you are truly good hearted but it also shows that you know when to stop. It takes someone who has been hated and has been hurt to be aware of the hate inside them. To stop and make hate into love requires strength like no other.
Dorlie, the imagery and the ways in which you demonstrated hate is surreal. I can see and feel the passion you have for love so I want to see more of the memories you have hate turning into love. Dorlie, I want you to us vulnerability of when you have in the past tried to love but couldnt muster it. Show us the struggle, the experience, and the hardship you had gone through to reach a point of turning almost any hate into love.
Love you with all my heart,
Suneet
Suneet!!
Thank you so much for your kind words! Knowing that you can relate to me in different ways makes me feel confident in my writing. I will definitely try to use the advice you’ve given me in order to strengthen my next piece.
Love you lots, too!
Dear Dorlie,
Love truly conquers hate if you have a pure heart. You are one of the most loving people i know of. You always make people smile and you love expressing your love with everyone else. I can see that this piece truly expresses your feelings. You do not fix problems with violence or hatred, but with love which is demonstrated in this piece.
i love how you went from whispering, to speaking, to projecting, to exclaiming. it shows how hatred starts from small inner feelings and how you slowly block out these negative feelings. it demonstrates the levels of hatred and how you feel hatred starts and how it should end.
When you talked about your two favorite phrases of love, “L’amour Agapé (unconditional love) and l’amour continuelle (continuous love)” it shows the depth of your emotions and how you view love as. They show how strong love is to you and the importance of it. The comparison of love to a shield and sword also expresses how much love means to you. This love truly makes you who you are and I see it everyday.
Love you,
Manisha
Thank you for your kind and lovely thoughts! I’m glad you were able to find grace in my work, it really means a lot! Thank you for taking the time to comment such beautiful things on my blog.
Also, since I know you, thank you for constantly being there to talk to me when I need someone to share jokes with. Thanks for the endless support.
Love,
Dorlie