Love is Not a Word

He told me that I should stay

Fists of anger clenched in his eyes

And wrinkles of desperation compiling

To form mountains between his eyebrows.

With an ember of hope

Waiting to catch a breath of relief

In order to fuel its flames,

I waited for a reason why,

A reason that made me believe that

I would never again be able to watch the leaves

Change Colors in the fall and not

Have my mind drift to the first time

He kissed me

Under the crimson blanket of an oak tree

On October 19th.

The response was wrapped in the

Emptiness of four small words

That before was used as a shield

Against every wrongdoing that

He had caused my heart;

“Because I love,”

He pleaded.

There came the reason

That I had to leave.

He did not understand

What love was.

Love is

Not a word.

Love is

A single outward puff

Of exasperation

Triggering every nerve

In your body

At the mere thought of

Their lips pressed

On the tender flesh

Of your cheek.

Love is

Not a word.

Love is

A single outward puff

Of stupefaction

When you realize that

The person in front of you

Is the Milky Way,

So timeless and complex

That all you can do is

Look from a distance and

Wonder what secrets lay

Beyond the stars in their eyes.

Love is

Not a word.

Love is

A coupled outward puff of desperation

For each other’s lips

For each other’s love.

Love is

Not a reason to stay

When all that lies behind the

Mask is the face of someone

Who only craves to touch your skin

And not your soul.

“If you truly loved me,

The thought of leaving would

Not be as freeing as

The wind under a bird's wings

Because to you,

Love is just a word.”

That year

Fall came

The leaves changed

And my mind remained at peace.