The word "love" there is no doubt
gets bandied all about
You use it as an epithet
and yet this moniker bestowed
Does nothing to whet
My craving, desire
to explode with the revelatory
notion (and I bemoan) that your devotion
is
to the word alone.

love
hate
like
date
the words that are four letters long
tend to be the ones we don't talk about
in front of our moms
I could never tell mom
about the things i love
because love comes with happiness
and I don't feel happiness
I never could tell mom
about the man I hate
because it was the same man
she was in love with at one time
I never could tell mom
about the man I liked
because the thought of
seeking her approval for a guy
I've already fallen in love with
would hurt me too much
I could never tell mom
about the men I date
because it was already too late
and if the guy broke my heart
she would probably hit them with a rake
14 years down the road
my mom has never heard me
mention an emotional four letter
word to her
and that makes me feel ok

I know that I only
hate you
because I'm actually
still crazy
in love with you,
but I
*******
hate you
for saying
I was the person
you'd think of
in your last moments
and then
somehow not loving me
in the kind of way
to
even feel the
    magnitude of
               it all.

*******.

I love you in my
                     hatred,
hate you in my
             undying,
                            unwavering,
       stupid
        stubborn
    dumbly drunk on you
                   love.