…then and only then
can it be said,
LOVE

when it is added to everything else
like work
and patience
and trust
plus commitment
and dedication
and loyalty
with care
and consideration
and wisdom
in honesty
and truth
and understanding

while being open
to what change really is

not last names,
or addresses
or figures

but ideals
and personalities
and feelings
and longstanding habits
and beliefs…

YOU think you know LOVE
until you press past the possibility
that your risk has no reward
that your time is wasted
that it never becomes
what you expected
or had hoped
and planned
and wished
and said it was

So it is beyond that…

It is the until now
previously unclimbed mountain
that you decide
needs to be encountered
despite its cliffs
and edges
and steepness
and overwhelmingness
and insurmountable odds
given to those who’d decided before
to climb
only to rest
on not being able to

But not you

YOU give yourself the freedom
and choice
and power
to prove it can happen,
happiness,
true and real
authentic

YOU realize that LOVE
does not mean possession
but instead release
and letting be
and the simplest,
of all these things

meaning…
repeating yourself
and praying it over
and forgiveness beyond comprehension
and staying the course
present and aware
while taking in the view,
and all of its colors

from whatever distance
that comes with reciprocity
and recognition
and realization

and you repeat these steps
in whichever order is best to do
until it becomes more
and enough,
or true,

…then and only then
can it be said,
LOVE.

-see

©2016 Cornelious “See” Flowers
@seethepoet