LOVE

I want to love
With abandon
Unafraid of the pain of rejection
With a childish hope
I want to stretch out my arms
And not fear the darkness
Into which I reach

I want to love
Like my mother
Who's furrowed brow and greying hair
Are evidences of her affections
And cares for the ones
She released upon the world

With a fierceness
And a fire
Burning and passionate
And uncontrolled
Which hurts just as often as it heals

I want to love
As many people as possible
And all at once
I want to hold them all
In an embrace that expresses
The unspoken sorries I have

And care
Too much
For far too many
Even as the care like a tidal wave
Floods my wild heart
And lungs
With worry
I want to love

Unbidden
Without restraint
With open palms
that are sweaty and shaking
But willing
To connect and collide
So that my fingers are so intertwined
With others that I cannot see where
I begin
And then I'll know
That I have loved