Chris, I am so glad to hear that you read "gentling" as 3 syllables, as I do, too. The problem is the appearance of the word on the page which says "gent-ling". It is just one of those awkward words.
I have no problem with the expression of "love" in this context, especially since it is a "fall in love" which comes after letting go. And that's what happens when you "let go", you "fall". It is entirely consistent with the rest of the poem, and accords with mystical tradition.
A one minute google turned up this quotation from an article on a Catholic website entitled - "Love and the Message of the Mystics".
This poem, for me, gets better and better with each reading.
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Mark Allinson
[This message has been edited by Mark Allinson (edited November 26, 2004).]