‘What is love?’ the discourse furthered
in a sea of
faces, both strangers and friends
and friends
who once were strangers
and
strangers who once were more than friends
He smiled
and professed the crowd,
refraining
to speak truths he knew few could fathom
but the
message needed to be sent
unspoken
words had tortured him for too long
and so he
spoke
‘Love
cannot be encapsulated in a single definition
be it yours
or mine,
It takes as
many forms as there are waves in the ocean
and as many
words as there are echoes in the mountains
It is the
eternal desire, when you pine for someone with such passion
that their
mere presence fills you up like an overflowing river
The sight
of their eyes twinkles brighter than all the stars in the sky
And all you
want to do is hold her close and let her know
that your
embrace is the only home she would ever need
You wish to
spoil her so no one will ever be good enough again
you want to
destroy yourself and everything you possess in her service
Gratify her
every desire to the point where she takes you for granted
devote your
existence to her every thought
Suffocate
her with your love that she can’t help
but to wish
you away
While you
rue yourself for trying too hard
for wanting
too much
hoping she
would understand what she means to you
hoping she
would appreciate your devotion for her
Crying
along on starlit nights sitting in her backyard
burying the
remnants of your love for her
Knowing
that the ghosts of your own making will haunt you
to eternity
and beyond
Then
there’s the other kind of love
one that
doesn’t speak much
and stays
silent for days, weeks, months… generations
it emerges
only when becalled
and for a
fleeting moment it shows its grandeur
and then
succumbs back into oblivion
waiting, to
be bid again
It’s not
lazy, this love
it just
doesn’t like the noise
it prefers
to watch from afar
It would
like to be appreciated
but doesn’t
mind if it isn’t
It prides
on simply being
Watching,
waiting, being
Like an
overarching shadow of the sky
like a
slight breeze of summertime
Like light
seeping through the creaks of darkness
like rain
waiting in the folds of clouds
Just
because it doesn’t make its presence felt
doesn’t
mean it isn’t there
Just
because it was lost
doesn’t
mean it can’t be found again’
He gleaned
at the silent crowd
this time,
his eyes finding another’s
Ones that
had understood him so well then
ones that
understood him so well now
With wet
eyes, she dare not shed any
for she had
gone far too far
and all
that remained was a look between
all words
said and unsaid shared
for they
knew this was all they would ever share
now and
forever
Vishal Gupta
February 20th, 2023
