About Love

It's the substance of you, 
the substance of me. 
But what is it? 

Words are helpless; 
words can only hint. 
We don't know what It is; 
we only know that It is. 
Which is enough. 

Love is what springs up 
when you're looking in the other direction; 
what rushes in when your definitions drop away. 
When you absolutely don't know anything 
whatsoever anymore, there It is-- 
painting Itself madly across your life 
with sudden strokes 
and unexpectedly rash ink. 

Love follows no rules; 
has no uniform behavior; 
can not be contained in a jar. 

Love is what happens 
when you disappear into thin air. 
Then It's the ground holding up your feet; 
the rain scrubbing the trees; 
a flower sneezing perfume; 
opulent sun; 
the brilliance of a child's eye; 
warm fingers, warm toes; 
a lover wrapping you up 
in a 20 pound smile; 
hot cocoa on an ice cold night. 
It's music, It's silence; 
It's an old rubber band 
that accidentally falls out 
in the shape of a heart. 
But don't think Love is all yesses and no noes: 
Love walks backward near anger; 
It refuses to chat with bleakness or density; 
and It vanishes entirely when you try to box it in. 
Love is smarter than all of us put together. 

Make a deal with yourself now 
to forget everything you ever knew about Love; 
It never cares what you think anyway. 
Just give it breathing room: 
if you sense It's hanging around, shut up and listen. 
Because Love is the God Within hurling Itself 
into your world to sweeten the pictures. 
It heals, It creates, It comforts, It unites. 

Often It removes the unnecessary. 
Yes,and It can heat up parts of you 
that are dead from neglect, 
if you don't question Its methods. 
We see a kiss and say that's Love... 
but the truth is Love is Love 
and the kiss is a poor shadow on the wall 
trying to live up to the Real Thing. 

One more time: 
Love is what happens 
when you disappear into thin air. 
Disappear as fast as you can -- 
you won't miss the weight. 
Afterwards, you'll watch Love float you into sanity, 
into realness, into vision. 
Then, with Love as your lens, 
you can collect smiles like flowers 
and hold them alive in your heart. 

Oh yes you can. 


- by Elsajoy Bailey