Love (really) is...

Love is not only a drug,
It's a dog,
A pea-souper fog,
A savory entrée,
Or an after dinner holiday!
It's a picnic
A date.
It's married with hate,
Dealt by fate -
An ace of nothing,
The deuce of hearts.
A jam tart
In a Viennese patisserie.
The jewel in the crown,
A mild curry going down.
The defilement of a young mind.
A warrior with an axe to grind.
A donkey stuck in the mud -
Cattle chewing cud.
Free-falling in an empty sky.
Pretending to die.
Shouting at a brick wall.
Touching something
That isn't really there at all.
A critic and a cynic,
A fever and a medic.
The meanings within it
Are many, my friend,
But don't review it
Before reaching the end.


Birmingham late 1986