Thoughts on Love

[This poem was written about seven years ago as an offering for my grandparents on their fiftieth wedding anniversary.]

A boy asked his professor about Love and learned that Love is governed by vectors, and Love's path is determined by forces of attraction and repulsion.

The boy asked his friend about Love and learned that Love is boring and foolish, and Love's path is determined by idle minds.

The boy asked his sister about Love and learned that Love is a physical enterprise intended to engross a couple in gratification, and Love's path is determined by a desire for a brief but intimate glimpse of euphoria.

The boy asked a homeless man about Love and learned that Love tears at your heart and stabs at your soul, and Love's path is determined by deception and sorrow.

The boy asked a postman about Love and learned that Love conducts itself with grace and formality, and Love's path is determined by fate.

The boy asked a minister about Love and learned that Love can save us from sin and reserve us a place in heaven, and Love's path is determined by God.

The boy asked a musician about Love and learned that Love is flamboyantly beautiful to the point of being irresistible, and Love's path is determined by incomprehensible emotions.

The boy asked a store clerk about Love and learned that not everyone wants to share their thoughts on Love.

The boy asked a librarian about Love and learned that Love is important for a properly healthy and fulfilling lifestyle, and Love's path is determined by open communication and warm feelings.

The boy asked a soldier about Love and learned that Love is something to pride and defend with every morsel of integrity in your being, and Love's path is determined by the unwritten justice that rules what is right or wrong.

The boy asked a politician about Love and learned that Love is pleasant, and Love's path is determined by similarities in belief and preference.

The boy asked a poet about Love and learned that Love has frivolous peaks and valleys, and Love's path is determined by the dreams of the highest clouds and the despair of the deepest, loneliest caverns.

And finally, the boy encountered a happily aging marriage intertwined with a bond of Love so unshakable and sincere that an impressive half of a century of dedication posted no doubts regarding its purity.

The boy learned of true Love, and learned that if you surrender yourself to the warm embrace of Love, then Love will determine your path.

[end]