Love is the Law of this Land

My body carries many scars,
Scars born from knives, razors and cleavers I took to it,
In the first 22 years of my life,
I call them my tiger stripes.

Hannibal Lector once said that our scars have the power,
To remind us that the past was real,
My scars tell the story of the fight for my soul,
My body bears the evidence of having been a battle ground.

In that battle two sides fought for the kingdom of my being,
One sourced in my own inner hell and fuelled on rage, trauma, and self-destruction,
And one sourced in soul, love,
And the remembrance of who I truly am.

I could not fully capture if I tried,
How dark that battle in my heart seemed at times,
And how often it felt as if all was lost,
Perhaps you know what I mean.

At times the forces of darkness reigned,
Great shadows dominated my being,
I hurt myself and those I loved deeply,
It all could have gone Vader.

And yet, through the sheer force of pain,
Once I had suffered enough,
And through the grace of great teachers in the form of humans, forests and my own body,
I became clear and found my resolve.

That was the day that a new dawn rose,
And the light of love first landed,
As the law of this kingdom,
And a pact of inner peace and kindness was sealed.

In short, love won.
And has been the law of this land ever since,
Yes, from time to time rebellions rise,
And they too are allowed their place.

But love and soul have landed here,
And now my scars - my tiger stripes,
Are reminders of the journey this soul and body have taken out of the jaws of hell,
And into the embrace of the love I truly am.

This is the story of how love landed in me.
How about you?