there is only love
She doesn't want to see
people
on the weekend
only her
cat
She gets drunk by herself
and then rummages through
her books
and reads the last pages
of several romance novels
and starts crying
When she cries
she holds the
cat's head like
a goblet
and clasps its ears with
her lips
and sucks on them,
making the poor
animal uncomfortable
And if the cat
runs away
she gets really sad
She writes positive
affirmations on
pieces of paper she
rips from
books
GOD IS MY SUPPLY OF LOVE
IN GOD'S NAME, I AM LOVE
THERE IS ONLY LOVE
LOVING ITSELF
AND THAT'S ALL THERE IS
then she eats the
papers
or crumples and
shoves them
deep between her
legs,
strengthening her faith
in the power of
the word
eventually she
falls asleep
and dreams of an
umbilical cord floating
through space,
seeking to wrap itself
around a planet shaped as
a baby's head,
wanting to strangle, to
crush it
but it never
succeeds
Eventually she awakens
and starts
writing poems
***
INSTAGRAM:
https://www.instagram.com/bogdan_1_dragos/
Unconditional Charity
So... what is love? That is a pretty deep question with a surprisingly simple answer.
I used to think hate was the opposite of love, but after a lot of thought, years of experience growing a large family of happy, healthy humans, and spreading love to those in my life I care about, I have come to a different conclusion.
The opposite of love isn't hate... it is selfishness.
At its core, love is simply caring for someone else's happiness more than we do for our own. It is very important that we like, appreciate, and value ourselves, but pure love is pure selflessness.
It is sad that there are so many for whom external expressions of love—saying "I love you," giving gifts, performing publicly recognized sacrifices—are selfish acts that are usually driven by fear of loss or pain. These people often use love to secure their own happiness, security, or gratification.
That isn't love; it is a blend of desire and need.
Love is hugging someone who is sad.
Love is helping a neighbor who has fallen down get back on their feet.
Love is a guiding hand that helps a child learn to navigate life.
Love is sharing a meal with a hungry stranger, though you will be left hungry.
Love is expressing admiration when feeling ambivalence, because it benefits another.
Love is volunteering time and energy when tragedy strikes.
Love is an anonymous gift that brings joy.
Love is magic.
I learned long ago that love is the one thing that grows when given away. For every ounce of love you give, you get two back in return. Love comes from a self-sustaining reservoir that cannot be run dry, if it is given away in purity. Selflessness is at the root of true love lie.
The Beatles had a hit song in the 1960's that claimed "in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make." This isn't correct though. In the end, the love you take exceeds the love you've given away, many fold.
There is only one drawback to love. Sooner or later, deep love becomes deep loss. If we turn the coin of love over, we find grief on the flip side. Caring for anyone or anything carries the seed of eventual pain. As humans, we are transitory creatures who exist in the here and now for a very limited amount of time. Luckily, the power of love transcends that brief span, existing even after we are gone.
When all is said and done, love is the only thing that truly matters.
if love be but a dream, let me never wake
when my heart overflows, let me give freely of it
at the end of my journey, let me be remembered for love
may the love I've given, exceed the pain I've caused
thus will be measured my soul
-----------------------------
© 2023 - dustygrein
Disaster
I am more than a disaster
But not less
I am what you might call
A hot mess
I don't spill my life
Just to impress
But I walk like I know
Where I'm going
And I speak because I know
Where I've been
It's not arrogance just because
The truth's bold
I'm not young just because
I don't look old
Sometimes I burn up
When the sun's cold
I'll always be the love
That you can't hold
the cure to my existential crisis
you are the breeze
that stirs the lake
of my soul,
stagnant water
crusted with algae
pushed into motion
by the force of you.
the mold that collects
in my corners
is scrubbed away
by your words.
you brush the dust
from my heart
and assure me
of my own existence.
and on the days
when i don't know
who i am
you assure me
that i'm exactly
what i need
to be.
I Was Made for Loving You!
Valentine's Day is coming up. That means I got a few Valentines themed challenges for everyone.
I didn't go to crazy with my themed challenges this time around, mainly because I just thought of this challenge half an hour ago. Regardless, I have eight new challenges for everyone to try out.
All challenges will end on February 28. Enter one, enter two, or enter in all of these fantastic and lovely theme challenges. If you have any questions about these challenges or what I may be looking for in these challenges, please feel free to send a message and ask me any time. And, of course, don't forget to tag me.
POETRY
Title: Love Poem
Description: Write a poem to your significant other. If you're single, write a poem to someone you are infatuated with.
Word Count: 15-250
Link: www.theprose.com/challenge/13676
ROMANCE/EROTICA
Title: Erotic Prose
Description: If this is your thing, write something erotic. Poetry or story. Any style or format welcome.
Word Count: No limit
Link: www.theprose.com/challenge/13675
NONFICTION
Title: Valentine's Day
Description: What's something you like to do on Valentine's Day, either with someone or by yourself?
Word Count: No limit
Link: www.theprose.com/challenge/13674
REVIEWS
Title: I Love This Movie
Description: What's your favorite romance film you enjoy watching on Valentine's Day? If you got more than one favorite, list them out.
Word Count: 15-300
Link: www.theprose.com/challenge/13673
LGBT
Title: Love is Love
Description: Write a poem or short story involving an LGBT couple.
Word Count: 15-2000
Link: www.theprose.com/challenge/13672
SCIENCE FICTION
Title: Love Across the Stars
Description: Write a short story or poem about a long-distance relationship across different planets or galaxies.
Word Count: 15-2000
Link: www.theprose.com/challenge/13671
HORROR
Title: My Bloody Valentine
Description: Write a short horror story set on Valentine's Day.
Word Count: 15-1500
Link: www.theprose.com/challenge/13670
COMEDY
Title: For All the Single Folks
Description: Being single can suck sometimes, but it doesn't have to be that way. Write a funny poem or story about being single on Valentine's Day.
Word Count: 15-500
Link: www.theprose.com/challenge/13669
#themechallenges #love #romance #ValentinesDay #fun #writing
White Elephants
The unthinkable
tastes like the peak of a fable, rolled around in
my beautiful mouth like anise, a cold syrup
pooling at the base of my throat, spreading across my collarbone.
Whose hand is this, linking with mine?
Whose voice is this, whispering in my ear, asking me
to pray? I've forgotten too many of you
to keep track of anymore.
Outside, I feel the earth binding itself, ribs knitting, scabs
sugaring over the wounds. The oak doors are seven hundred years old,
the woman tells me; it is late at night, and very cold
and the cathedral is a stone mountain pressing down on us.
I hadn't meant to stop here, I almost feel the need to tell her this.
What brings you here tonight, she asks, and I suppose for a moment
she is a nun, sent out to fetch the lost souls of the night.
It is my birthday, I answer, as if this explains anything.
Many returns of the day,
she says.
Yes. I say. Yes. and thank you.
She leaves when the bells begin to toll, and I shiver
at being alone.
Carved granite faces stare down. I feel a hand on my shoulder,
turn, gasp and roll my eyes.
Heat down the back of my neck.
A stitch bursts. Somewhere a rock rolls down a hillside.
The bell rings itself out, the city sleeps on, ignorant.
Deep breath now, and the cold sliding up my calves through my shoes.
Pray? That's your advice?
Well, I've heard worse. Pick a god, then.
I was eleven years old when a grown man told me I was beautiful
and it all went downhill after that. But it was like sunshine,
like a wheatfield in the summer, the coast nearby and filling the air with
the idea of
brine and slippery things. Yes, I could have laid down in the field
among the stalks of wheat, hidden. I know that now. I could have even filled my pockets and gone home and made bread
and sat in a chair in front of the oven and felt the warmth of created things, of
handcraft and earth. Something at the back of the tongue, sticky,
salty, will not go down. Instead I stood and waited for the colors of names of god
to swirl about me like a cloak, wrap me like loving arms, lead me past walls
of stone into a circle of people who also feel the blood of the earth
coursing in underground veins, and light at all hours
and whose voices sang in the endless blackness between stars, calling or praying
to the god of being listened to for once,
to the god of a peaceful and loving family of your own choosing,
to the god of remaining small and overlooked,
to the god of finally, dear god, getting something I want,
to the god of knowing better next time.
Love twisting like a hand around a shepherd's crook,
the fangs of forgiveness sunk deep and drinking,
the throat choked with
almost words.
The smell of bread, of cold wet stone,
licorice.