All day the lyrics to a song have been running through my head:
The song of love is a sad song, hi lilly, hi lilly, hi lo
The song of love is a song of woe, Don’t ask me how I know.
The melody of the song is memorable, and the words have a lot of truth to them. The song of love is a sad song because if we truly love someone the chances are 1 in 2 that either one of the parties will die first, leaving the other behind.
When we are young, we think that love is forever. When we are first in love, the sun rises and sets on our beloved and we can see no faults in that person. Sometimes, things go terribly wrong.
I watched a movie today in which a relationship was not what the woman thought it to be: loving. The wife (played by Sally Field) meekly followed her husband, an Iranian doctor, back to Iran for a so-called visit. Once there, she was trapped, humiliated, beaten, threatened, and not even allowed to leave the apartment. Why? He wanted her to convert to Islam and live with their daughter in Iran. He was a mean man and his actions infuriated me.
What makes it worse is that this is a true story. The woman was able to finally escape. If she had not, she would have been dead by now. Currently, she helps other American women, who have been tricked into similar situations, to escape from their captors.
Seeing the movie made me realize just how many evil and fanatical men there are in the world. It is a frightening prospect, and one that is hard to fathom when the men that I know personally are all so kind and good.
The watchwords of the movie, that were based on a book, are also the title: “Not Without My Daughter.” You see, her husband was going to let her go to America to liquidate all of his holdings and to visit her dying father, on the condition that she leave her daughter behind. In the end, she managed to escape with her child.
On one level, this movie made me want to hate the people of Iran and their strange ways. What made the portrayal worse and even more bizarre was that it really was a true story. On the other hand, I would like to believe that there are “good” people in that country, and I wondered if this was a type of propaganda film. All I really knew for sure is that I was steaming “mad” all through it. I am happy that it had a good ending.
Take care with your heart. There are the “users” of the world who would eat you up and spit you out, without another thought. Just watch for the hidden agendas. They do abound.
Even though the song sounds melancholy, I do like the words and melody to the song I mentioned. None of us get out of this life without heartbreak. My own heartbreak began when I lost my father when I was just 22 years old. The more we love, the greater the loss. Yes, “the song of love is a sad song,” but what is the alternative? In this life, we are called to love one another. Parting is bittersweet.
Patricia Cummings
Quilter’s Muse Publications
