Winter in the North Country - Wishing I had some Boots of Spanish Leather

This morning as I drove to pick up Krista from her night shift I had on the cd Putumayo Presents American Folk (2005). Though I've heard it countless times before, Nancy Griffith's version of Dylan's "Boots of Spanish Leather stood out to me.

I think of this song as one of Dylan's 'eternal' ballads, because even though it was written in 1963, it could have been written a hundred years earlier.

The lyrics are a dialogue between two lovers, separated by distance and perspective. The one keeps offering the 'things' of this world, whereas all that is really wanted is the presence of the Beloved:

No, there's nothin' you can send me, my own true love,

There's nothin' I wish to be ownin'.

Just carry yourself back to me unspoiled,

From across that lonesome ocean.

Presence is that most essential of realities. I have been recently wading through Walter Ong's The Presence of the Word, but listening to "Boots of Spanish Leather" in the snowy Edmonton darkness this morning finally made it click.

I stayed up late last night, reorganizing bookshelves, and rose early this morning - but I have not felt as awake for some time. I slept while Krista worked through the night. She will sleep as I work through the day, but, as T.S. Eliot indicated, in love there is no distance. I know that full well this morning. I am blessed beyond deserving.