Love a Thousand Times

First time she fell in love her heart was a dove and her flesh was made of rose petals. But Love is the hunter that chases pigeons. Love is the cruel gardener that scatters the rosebuds. And so her dove fled and her rose petals were trodden underfoot.
Second time she fell in love, her heart was a deer and her body a sweet melody. But love is the panther that seeks fawns and the panther is unmoved by the fawn's graceful beauty. So the panther caught the little deer and the storm of love destroyed the frail body and no sweet melody remained.
Third time she fell in love her heart was a fierce falcon and her flesh a great oak. But love is the limitless sky that effortlessly swallows a falcon. It is the hand of death that eventually leads every living body into the grave, even those as sturdy as oaks. Her falcon was lost in the endless sky and her lifeless body floated in a coffin on the violent stream of love.
She fell in love again and again, thousands of times.
But then, she fell in love once more. Her heart was a great steed made of the sturdiest iron, smeared with blood and singed with fire and her flesh was made of rocks and her bones were made of passion. This time Love himself came to meet him in shape of a noble rider bearing armor and a shield. Her heart leapt with immense joy. He said to her: "Your life will now be forever a battle; your opponent is your God. Prove your worth to him for he has told you to be strong and faithful because true love if the one true God is not offered to the weak of heart. Then she mounted on her mighty horse and cracked a whip on her heart and embarked on her great journey...and that was the first day she was ever truly in love.