What love is and what love is not

a poem by Mary Mathew

Love is like an elixir for the eternal youth.
Love is not the source of power for the uncouth.
Love is like a stroll through a garden of pleasures.
Love is not a journey through callous terrains.

Love’s commitment is like the ocean’s depth.
Love is not as fragile as a drooping rosebud.
Love is like the highway for the lost nomad.
Love’s music is not lost, but echoes as a laugh-
Filling the abyss like hearts of those in need.

Love is like quenching one’s thirst in the
Fountain of wisdom from the heart of Thee.
Love is not going astray into the jungle of hatred.
Love is humble as the lotus in the polluted pond.

Love is like the rising wave in a steady pace.
Love never materializes into an avenging phoenix.
Love is not a soliloquy to oneself but a shared philosophy.
Love is a soldier surviving through the canyons of destiny.

Love is like the oasis of optimism in the desolate desert.
Love is not negligent like the koel who leaves its young one.
Love is the hope that is soaring like an eagle in flight.
Love is not the flower that wilts but matures under glowing sun.

Love in my eyes is all these and much more than I can tell.
One may not be able to fathom its intensity or foretell
Its true potential, for what love is and for what love is not-
Is beyond the mortal understanding of the poetess in me.