Love The Poem

Love - the substitute of the 20th century
A song of commitment?
Call it love…
Friendship?
Same
Devotion?
Ditto
Deep emotion?
Ibid.
Rock and Roll
In search of a reason to be
--rescued by love
Country music may twang
But it speaks of misery
Loss
Drinking
Trains
And not just love…
You can fall in love with yourself
And never recover
Or love can be your job
Your career
A form of artistic expression
It can help you move beyond
Love unites mind, body and emotion
But it can fool like false gold
As a young man I cruised the street
Stomach rolling to see certain cars
Oh the proxies for love…
It can mean nothing
It can be a 24-hour virus
It can be over abundant
Or like a currency
That buys less and less
A form of inflation
With a rich history
sublime manifestations (agape)
friendship (philia)
corporeal (eros)

Two wrapped-up people
Are said to “make love”
As if love came from
Sweat and gyration
For it sounds bad
To say they: “make pleasure”
No word is euphemized more than love

Aristotle spoke of friendship
Of the utilitarian, using the other
To the selfless,
Each seeking the best for the other
Which brings us to trust
The biggest thorn
In the side of love…
It comes down to one
Risking all for the other
With no certainty of reaction

Love, the great gamble
Which at its freest
Throws self to the wind
Past better judgment
A dive into the deep

The story of Romeo and Juliet
Is more defiance than love…
Since love is not pathetic
But of clear purpose, strength of will
Under its influence the two
Are attracted, yes,
But even more,
They are enthralled
By the thought of living
The impulse of love is life
The impulse of loyalty is fear
A clash between words and worlds
A lover will die to protect the loved
But not to possess
Romeo and Juliet remind us
Love can be ruled by madness
Yet love is the highest emotion
And at its Zenith is pure passion
And though the two sleep poorly together
Passion is affirming, not debilitating
And mindful love?
Life itself