What Love Really Means

Love is

Weightless.

It’s like a bird,

Soaring through a clear blue sky

On a warm summer’s day.

It’s the feeling at the top of

A roller-coaster,

The first part of the drop,

Before everything else

Comes crashing down.

Love is

Heavy.

It’s a bag full of schoolbooks

To carry around all day,

Your back aching from the dull pain

That ripples through you.

Love is

Playful.

It’s full of inside jokes

That no-one else can understand.

Guilty smiles of planned surprises,

Sneaking kisses behind the school gym.

It’s the dirty jokes

You fit in to conversation,

Eliciting a blush and a giggle

And perhaps a little wink.

Love is

Hatred.

It’s all the words

Your mother would never let you say

For fear of washing your mouth out with soap.

It’s knowing that no matter what you say,

They’re still there.

Because on the bad days,

Bad words spill out of our control.

Hating something only means

That you had the chance to love it first.

Love is

Fast.

It’s a heartbeat

Pounding in your chest

Like a drum about to burst.

It’s the celebrations that

Flash by in a second,

But years have gone by.

Love is

Loud.

It’s a game of

Who can sing the loudest

On a road trip in the car.

It’s shouting your name

Across the store

When you’ve wondered out of sight.

It’s worrying about

The neighbours

Listening in on your

Private moments,

Then realising you simply

Don’t care.

Love is

Constant.

It’s craving someone’s presence

The moment they leave,

The needy feeling

Of always wanting them by your side,

Day or night.

Love is

Forgiveness.

It’s a gentle hug

And an ‘I’m sorry’

When things go wrong.

Understanding that

Things can be replaced,

People can’t,

And that the people

Are always the most important.

Love is

Silence.

Not awkward,

Not unwanted.

It’s the quiet you enjoy,

The comforting blanket of warmth

That needs no voices to stay.

Love is

Exciting.

The plans for the future

That become the

Here and now.

The happiness you feel

When someone you love

Does something incredible.

It’s the proud feeling

That sticks in your throat,

The smile that can’t leave your face.

Love is

Cold.

It’s the lonely nights

Without a message returned,

Without a word back to

See if they’re home safe.

It’s the blank stare

As you try to talk

But they don’t want to

Listen.

It’s the nights

You cry in your sleep

Wondering what you

Should have done better.

Love is

Fair.

It’s splitting the bill for dinner

On the first date,

Because sharing is caring.

It’s taking turns on the game system,

Cheering each other

In a race.

It’s giving the blanket back

After pulling it away

In the night.

Love is

Competitive.

It’s racing to press

The button for the elevator.

It’s singing louder than the other

But trying to stay in tune.

It’s playing Mario Kart,

Screaming at the screen

For the little car to move

before the other crosses

the finish line.

Love is

Comfort.

A warm blanket to snuggle up in,

Using each other as a pillow

On the cold winter days.

It’s watching your

Favourite movies

Over and over,

Listening to you recite the words,

Even if they can’t stand the film.

Love is

Relaxing.

It’s knowing life is

Moving at your own pace

Without anyone rushing you through it.

Lying back, legs in their lap,

At ease with the world around you.

Love is

Stressful.

It’s the questions they don’t

Remember to ask

But expect you to

Know the answer.

It’s the endless conversations of

What, when and how,

Adding to your own mental plate

Again and again.

Love is

Friendship.

It’s the laughs and cries

Of a bond well formed,

That can be unanswered for weeks

Without a crack being made.

Love is

Challenging.

It is different for everyone

With each person they choose.

From sisters to fathers,

From husbands to friends,

Love is fought for

By everyone,

If they know it or not.

There are good days

And bad,

There are good loves and not.

Know that to love

Is to share part of you

With the world.

Don’t hide your flaws,

Don’t shy away your tears.

Love is hard, but you deserve

To love the way you wish.

Love can

Hurt.

Love can

Sting.

But real, true love,

That you deserve

Will feel different.

It will be soft,

It will be gentle.

And you will find yourself

Re-thinking

What True Love

Really means.