Freedom Is the Power to Commit

Music: Serenade for Strings.
By Antonin Dvorak.
Performed by The Advent Chamber Orchestra at the Free Music Archive
under a Creative Commons Attribution/ShareAlike license.

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Freedom is the power to commit
Oneself to limiting one's freedom. Real choice
Rules out choices. One finds the proper fit,
Then through years of loving finds one's voice.
Yet some are loath to choose because they fear
Not being free to choose, at every moment
In flight from choice because they cannot bear
Not living only, solely, in the present.
Each lover lives within a larger space,
Yielding to the future and the past,
Engaged in well-timed acts of timeless grace
As each, each day renews a love that lasts.
Rejoice, then, in that choice made long ago,
Still choosing love, for love is what you know.

Copyright by Nicholas Gordon. Free for personal or non-commercial use.

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