Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day friends!

What is love?  Love is a rose.  Delicate scented petals wrapped tightly in a bud release over time, exhaling their aroma as they fall to the earth.  Love is release. It is thorns and stems, leaves and stamen.  It is growth; heavy and heady, new and old; it is perennial and dormant.  It is hopeful and colorful, yet it needs fertilizer and protection from mold.  It needs to be cut back in order to emerge stronger in a new season.  It is roots and moisture, sunlight and oxygen.  It is chemical matter.  It is life.

  Love is a shoe.  Bright and shiny at first, leather to be broken down until it becomes old and comfy.  The perfect fit is hard to find.  It works best when two laces are woven together and tied in a bow with a gently snug knot.


Love is a room where people have to share space.  The corners are full of stuff.  One half is sort of messy, with wrinkly laundry waiting to be folded and put away.  One half is neat, with items sorted and dusted.  One side has a sunny window where the light streams in, while the other half sits in shadow.  Sometimes I like the shadow because then I don't notice the dust.


Love is a path.  You start out walking on it, never knowing if you'll make it out of the forest, or over the mountain.  You might have to cross a river, you might meet a bear.  Or seventeen.  Love is a path where the light makes patterns on the ground ahead.  It leads over meadows with grasses and wildflowers, passing large rocks and little, inconsequential things.  Love is a road that is wide where everyone can walk.  It is narrow and rocky where only the brave dare tread.


What is your metaphor for love?