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 Elsa Joy Bailey