What know you of love?

You who asks for a hand in marriage but really means the whole body.

You who've been raised to think of power as security

Who has been told to guard your feelings less you scar your heart

And to whom honesty is for chumps and Sunday school pushers

What know you of love?

You who are patted and gunned down in these streets

You who are pimped and strung out in these streets

You who are left to die in these streets

What know you of love?

You who believes in winners and losers and survival of the fit

What know you of love?

Of her nudity

And his innocence

What know you of love?

Would you recognize them.

Devoid of make up.

Him, filter, free.

Vulnerable ...

What

Know of you

of Love?

You who have been taught from the start of a finish,

a winners table with room for one

To be yourself

To be better than the rest

And what does that say of the rest?

Who are the rest?

Who are you?

And ...

...what know you of love?

You who've been taught that salvation is a solitary thing

And that if you dot your holy i's and cross your sanctified t's

Your golden ticket to eternity is stamped and guaranteed,

What know you of you love?

And the hunger that bellows belly deep

In those without shelter for sleep

Their signs you don't read

The promises you can't keep

What know you of forever?

Of permanence

Of security in a world where everything's eating, melting into itself and forming new and exploding old and being born

through dying

What know you of forever?

You

who like me

Are unmoved by blood and warfare on tv

Who was raised on power and fear and pain

And Hollywood fantasies

You who have been taught that communication ruins the mystery

And for whom over talking kills your vibe

You who've been taught to dialogue in disguise

To surface listen to a bites of a person’s opinion in order to forcefeed them a piece of your own mind

Ignoring the invitation into theirs

What know you of love?

You who hate to dine alone but will anyway out of fear of appearing too thirsty,

For whom love is for the naive, for the weak, for the hopeless romantic?

For whom love does not strengthen community

Does not meld us together.

The lies we (you) spew.