'Tis a Fearful Thing by Yehuda Halevi

‘Tis a fearful thing

to love what death can touch.

A fearful thing

to love, to hope, to dream, to be –

to be,

And oh, to lose.

A thing for fools, this,

And a holy thing,

a holy thing

to love.

For your life has lived in me,

your laugh once lifted me,

your word was gift to me.

To remember this brings painful joy.

‘Tis a human thing, love,

a holy thing, to love

what death has touched.

Yehuda Halevi (1075 – 1141), also known as Judah Halevi and Judah ben Shmuel Halevi, wrote a wide range of secular poems noted for their wit and emotional intensity.