OctPo Day 29: Love

Today we write of love. Of loves past or present, whether we are madly in love or remember a love with fondness or regret. I'm not sure where I stand when it comes to love. At mid-life, I no longer feel as compelled by desire as I used to. It's an unsure time, and I have no idea what the future holds. So, I reflect on the past here.

Pyre

Yes
I've known love,

hot and fast

and dizzying and

euphoric, like

dancing on burning

coals, faster

and faster

I've known
kinder loves, 

slow and sweet

and steady and 

too good for the

likes of me

I cut my heart out

over and over

again, and then

tried to fill 

the hole

I made there

Nothing grows
there now, and
the frenzied dance

has ended

Perhaps one day
from the ashes
of that which
consumed me,
real love

can bloom