loverly

1 Corinthians 13

i can know love 

in every language, but

if i don't give it away,

i am lost in translation.

if i could tell what is

going to happen tomorrow 

or know all the quiz show answers

or am smarter than Stephen Hawking

but simply cannot love, i am clueless.

if i live off the grid and

leave no carbon footprint,

but i refuse to walk in love,

i am a poor role model in life.

love will wait, however long it might be.

love chooses gentleness over aggression.

love does not want what you have,

is not narcissistic,

won't push others away,

and refuses to be mean.

love does not cut in line,

won't chase you off its lawn,

never carries a grudge.

love doesn't do cartwheels

over another's legal troubles

and won't share fake news.

love yokes itself to the struggling,

listens without judging to pain-filled stories,

believes the best in others,

will never give up or give in.

love can never not be love.

sound bytes will be forgotten,

the latest scam rooted out,

the best-selling book 

will soon gather dust.

we are still in preschool

just learning love's language,

but soon we will be

as fluent as anyone else.

i look in the mirror and

see only my loneliness

but one day, the Beloved

Community will be there,

gathered all around me.

even though i take baby steps,

the day will come when i realize

love has been that beat in my heart

from my very first breath.

faith is so tenacious.

hope is incredibly persistent.

and love?

love is too damn stubborn

to ever give up.

(c) 2023 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman