Love Is Not Prepackaged

Why do you think love
should come prepackaged
and all you have to do
is open it and pop it
into your heart like
it is a frozen dinner?

Love springs from a seed
planted in the heart,
full of first moments,
a glance, a kiss, a touch.

It is the change that
turns selfishness into generosity.
Love shares the ecstasy of joy.
Helps to carry the burden of sorrow.

It is the emotion that brings
the strong to tears,
gives the timid a voice,
leaves the verbose speechless.

Love is not a microwave emotion
where you can program it,
push a button and its done.
It takes rolling up the sleeves of your heart
to tend love’s garden to watch it grow.


©Susie Clevenger 2010
Open link Monday at Real Toads

Comments

Unknown said…
Awesome and so true! Love your blog! :)
December 22, 2010 at 1:15 PM
Daydreamertoo said…
I have found that love is like anything else, it needs to be constantly taken care of, nurtured, grown and lots of compromise. So easy to fall in lust, but, love does take work. You are so right.
April 9, 2012 at 4:36 PM
Scarlet said…
It is not...it takes a lot of time and nurturing. Thanks for your lovely words in my blogoversary ~
April 9, 2012 at 5:00 PM
Anonymous said…
what love is... and isn't - very nicely done {sigh} I guess we shouldn't be surprised that even love falls under the instant gratification umbrella of this crazy world
April 9, 2012 at 5:30 PM
Mary Ann Potter said…
A very well-composed poem! These are things that younger people just don't see. This is where we say, "If I'd known then what I know now..." I really, really enjoyed this!!!
April 9, 2012 at 6:57 PM
Denise Moncrief said…
Well said. So many times people seek immediate gratification, and love shouldn't be that way. You've described the slow nurturing of true love.
April 9, 2012 at 7:27 PM
Fireblossom said…
This is excellent, Susie. I particularly like the next to last stanza; those things are so true!
April 9, 2012 at 7:43 PM
Semaphore said…
No, not pre-packaged, not microwaveable, but something to be planted and grown and nurtured. You have it exactly as it is.
April 9, 2012 at 9:17 PM
Sherry Blue Sky said…
Oh I love this SO MUCH!!!! Especially the wise closing lines. Awesome!
April 9, 2012 at 10:27 PM
vivinfrance said…
A wonderfully wise summation.
April 9, 2012 at 11:57 PM
Kerry O'Connor said…
Love is not a frozen dinner or microwaved emotion... How awesome is that comparison?
April 10, 2012 at 8:52 AM
Ravenblack said…
Great work. Love's not instant get-all-at-once, it's not something you get if you don't put anything into it, it's not something you lie back and expect to be able to sustain or keep it. Love is not a one-thing, but something dynamic and can change things around it. Wise words, excellent lines and a joy to read.
April 10, 2012 at 9:21 AM
Kay L. Davies said…
"It takes rolling up the sleeves of your heart" is such a perfect way to put it, Susie, and it's so very true. Thanks for this one.
K
April 10, 2012 at 9:05 PM
Abin Chakraborty said…
Bam! Nail on the head. so very true. not only can you not program it, it can throw you curveballs beyond your wildest dreams.but if you stick it out...home run in every sense!
April 11, 2012 at 5:26 AM
Margaret said…
The fourth stanza is beautiful and the last two lines are perfect. Wisdom beautifully said
April 16, 2012 at 2:09 PM
Post a Comment