love hurts
they say, but this
can’t be the half of it
love is beyond hurt, love
is a knife with no handle, love
is broken glass on a concrete floor, love
is the muffled voice from another room
determining your fate, love
is the point of impact, love
is the raptor’s shadow and the sound
of an owl’s wings in the dark, love
is a hot stove and the last drop of blood,
an open wound and the purple pink
of a new scar, love
is the soft body of a small
crushable thing, love
is a flash flood and love
is a trail with no water, love
is a two-track in the desert
a rain shadow on the ridge
and lightning in the trees, love
is the certainty that this road
must always end in death, and love
is the truth that this
is our only road to redemption
© J.A. Fink 2013