This Thing Called Love

How does one measure

a thing such as this,

it can break a heart

or fill it with bliss.

How much does it take

to join two people,

to cause them to marry

beneath a church steeple.

So often it’s heard

“I love you so much”,

must it be spoken

or is it in a touch.

There can be little doubt

it comes in many a form,

each so very different

yet most are the norm.

The love of a parent

a child or pet,

each is unique and

always a treasure to get.

It challenges time

whether old or new,

it changes your life

and alters your view.

How can you tell

when you’ve given enough,

impossible to measure

it’s truly peculiar stuff.

From where does it come

and how can it go,

it arrives without warning

its departure saddens so.

Some wear it with pride

others fear it will show,

there is little question

it can make one glow.

Is it given and taken

or a treasure to share,

a gift from God or Nature

like the ocean, sky and air.

Does it dwell deep in the heart

or hail from our very soul,

without it our lives seem

a bottomless black hole.

Life long acquaintances

may never see it start,

yet the passing of two strangers

can ignite like a spark.

Some have said you

can not search it out,

but it will find you

if worthy and lack doubt.

We know so little

of a thing so strong,

only that life without it

is eternally long.

Gary R. Cramer

May 6, 1987