questions of love

Some say

love is red as a rose,

tastes like dark chocolate while sipping deep red wine.

It is holding hands and gazing at stars.

Amazingly, verses of love are bought and sold

every February to express sentiments

as passing as a lilac fragrance in the spring wind.

The commercial frenzy limits love to an emotion that is for sale.

Truth tells us

that love is patient and kind. We believe;

but how do we navigate forgiveness when bills are due,

babies cry, and harsh words cut to the bone?

Maybe love is an action,

something we do. When the tilt-a-whirl of life spins us

until our heads are dizzy and our stomachs turn,

love can be as simple as clinging tightly to each other.

Love is feeling

the touch of someone who won’t let go. It is the scent

of our lover’s breath just before the kiss; it is waking up

in the middle of a nightmare, knowing we are not alone.

Not just receiving,

love is also being the rock, the tree with

strong and sturdy roots that holds the boat steady

when rough waters push against the hull.

Ultimately, the gift of love is durable.

It lifts us and invites us to be healed. Nevertheless, we must

always remember to put our shoulder to the work of love,

pulling the jagged stones from good dirt.

When we wake

each day and choose love, it will never fail.

And in the end, love is the only thing that will last

beyond this space and time – sailing through infinity.