expectations

define love

is it smiles exchanged and crushes denied

on the playground beneath cloudless skies

running away to giggle and hide

is that love?

define love

is it being stuffed in a pleather seat

as the bus bumps down the street

his smile crooked as his teeth

jostled jumbled and almost free

is that love?

define love

is it the crunch of autumn leaves

crumbling beneath trudging feet

as your hands almost nearly meet

and his voice you can feel tingling

midnight whispered phone calls ringing

is that love?

define love

is it miles apart in the middle of the night

recounting memories

is it fight or flight

for a future somehow combined

is that love?

define love

is it three years of promises

naked bodies and common knowledge

everything that hurts forgotten

comfort when you're feeling rotten

is that love?

define love

is it the pen and ink

straining your every exhale

staining your entrails

seeping through pores like rainwater set to boil

is that love?

because if it's not I don't know what is

and if I'm lost then I don't know where I live

because this is home and your arms are bliss

show me truly what love is