We got up early this morning, and the first light in the deep woods met us on our morning walk. How precious these morning walks have become for me, for us. The weekend is approaching, Sunday is our sixth wedding anniversary, and I am humbled by how much love and color and light Maria has brought into my life, as she has into so many others.

I hear the sound of our feet walking on the soft earth, on the twigs and leaves. I hear the sound of my soul waking up.

When we got married, she was worried she would be subsumed in my humble glow, but that does not come up any more. She is her own person, loved in her own right for her own work. People surprise me by asking if that makes me jealous, and I have to smile. There is nothing on the earth that makes me happier.

Sometimes, walking in the woods, I stumble on the thick grass and limbs along the path, and I lean on Maria for support. Her arm is always there, as she is always there for me, and until one is loved like that, I think it is impossible to know what love is. Sunday, we will stay at home, be together, plant a tree.

“What is this precious love and laughter

Budding in our hearts?

It is the glorious sound

Of a soul waking up!”

• Hafiz