love is not

love is not
love is not drunken
it does not make false promises
or angry accusations
love does not scream or curse
it does not hide cases of beer bottles
or need bong hits to be tolerated
love is not stumbling out of a pickup truck
with an empty fifth of jack
or throwing a telephone
love is not watching porn
it does not require incognito browsing
or clearing the user history
love is not waking her up to pick a fight
it is not storming out in the night
or having to read minds
love is not asking what she likes
and then never doing it
or making her pay for time
love is not punishing her for imagined insults
trying to break her with
fear and uncertainty
love is not knocking crumbs
under the counter
or pretending not to smell stinking garbage
love is not a gun at her back
it is not death threats
or slamming a dog to the sidewalk
love is not nasty notes and dirty socks
stuffed through her car window
cracked to led out the August heat
love is not ignoring her friendly text
refusing to call
or to let her make a call
love is not teasing her when she needs help
or rubbing salt in her wounds
love is not wounding her
it is not hurtful or cruel
or spiteful

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I haven’t yet figured out just what love is, still working on that.  But there are a whole lot of things it certainly isn’t.  This poem pulls bits from a few relationships.  For some reason none of them worked out.  Go figure.  😉