what is love

What is love they say?

I see it in our haunted eyes,

It is my willingness to take your hand

And stand strong by your quivering side

As we face your abyss and mine.

What is love?

I have wondered before.

It is the strength we embody

When the blood runs cold and voices rise

To bury our pride and become us, not I.

The warm place between your arms,

Feeling the steady breath and beat,

It is that song that sings me to sleep,

This safe place.

What is love, it is right here with me.

The quintessence to our lives

The antagonist of many,

What is love but the beginning and end?

It is something we can pretend

To know,

But never truly comprehend, and so

What is love

But what you give and are given,

Not a prize but a mutual exchange.

Accepting our demons, our devils and every sin,

Loving all our parts outside and in.