Love
is a perplexed newborn
fresh from the womb
afterbirth clinging to eyes
jiggling on twitching limbs
ejecting first scream
startled by its own pitch
yearning to meet the woman
whose canal it swam
into a world of uncertainty
searching the frosty room
for directions
back to her warmth
Love
is 93 years old
on deathbed
best life lived
all goals accomplished
regret and debt free
unbothered by its
dwindling bodily functions
ready to fly
nothing left to do here
had all the peace
it prayed and worked for
left its healing
across the globe
so as last breath
crawls through cracked lips
they melt serenely
into a smile
shaped like contentment
Love
wears skirts and three-piece suits
smells good
speaks a pretty language
gives hope
does dishes without being asked
remembers birthdays
anniversaries
says please and thanks
lemme get that for you
shows up for everyone
with bells on
even itself
Love
is also covered
in skull-and-bone tattoos
wears durags and bandanas
sports a mouth full of gold
drinks too much sometimes
gets into arguments
cusses a little
or a lot
depending on the day
and who pushed the envelope
too far
serves an unnerving side-eye
misses the mark
of righteousness weekly
but always
opens wife's doors
never pulls off
with her in the passenger seat
of the vintage Impala
without ensuring her sundress
is properly draped
across her thighs
touches her like
its job is to guarantee
she never breaks
kisses her sweetly
on the nose
every night before bed
is introspective
remorseful
and willing
to do better next time
After bullies
took new kid's lunch
Love
broke its turkey sandwich
and the last double-fudge brownie
it fought its brother for
that morning
in half
with post-playground hands
and shared
On a day that felt like
the sun needed anger management
Love
dashed into the street
commanded erratic traffic
like a salaried crossing guard
scooped up a near-slain bird
from the scalding pavement
bare-handed
and sprinted its limp
bloody body
two miles to the vet
Occasionally
Love
sleeps through the alarm
wakes up groggy
and takes half the day off
cuz it ain't always
runnin' on a full tank
but
never lets itself deplete
Somebody shoulda told you
Love and Exhaustion
are on a first-name basis
In the real world
Love
goes to prison
for losing its temper
deep in
the barrel of a gun
the thrust of a blade
for losing control
behind the wheel of a car
CNN will fill you in
on Monday's "Things got out of hand"
Thursday's "It wasn't supposed
to happen like that"
Sunday's "But...it was an accident"
Last week
Love
stole four-figure meds
for Gran-Gran
diapers and food for the twins
and lied on the job application
Somebody shoulda told you
Love
does whatever
it thinks is necessary
to survive and save lives
Judge if you want
but until you've hobbled
Forrest Gump miles
in this Love's oppressive shoes
fearing the worst
for people you adore the best
just smile
wave
and look the other way
Today
Love
didn't brush its teeth
comb its hair
or shower
cuz Love
don't always feel
a hundred percent
but that don't mean
it won't try to give it
So it crunched
a handful of Altoids
across plaqued teeth
put on its most appropriate hat:
the Nike beanie
prayed it wouldn't smell
like what it had been through
the day before
and went
where it was needed most
Love
is good at being
where it's needed most
and known
for being tightly tucked
in places
it's hard to recognize
How many faces of Love
have you seen?
How many faces of Love
have you worn?
©2024 Charlene E. Green
