Over at Limping Towards the Sunrise some of us have been remembering the fashions of the early ’90s. All that talk of pink shirts and floral trousers (not on me, you understand) brought back other memories, and I found myself reaching for John Michael Talbot’s Lover and the Beloved. I played this CD endlessly when I first found it (it comes post Taize, and pre-Tavener, if you’re wondering). I love it, though it may seem bizarre. I find it provoking & disturbing, for all that it seems to drip of honey at first. Typical mysticism, in fact — holding out the promise, and reminding you of how far you are from it.
I’m struggling to find a good recording on-line, but there’s a bit for you here.
Come my love,
pass through my will
as through a window
Shine on my life
as on a meadow
I, like the grass, to be consumed
by the rays of the sun
on a late summer’s morningThomas Merton/ John Michael Talbot
wonderful exchange 