Love is a place.
A safe space,
Where you can be you, without fear.
Without judgment or reprisal; just to be clear.
Love is online, a community that fosters your growth.
Love is a home that supports and offers a troth.
Love is that one diner
Where you and your tribe couldn’t be finer.

But love is not *every* place.

Love is a person. They ask if you’ve eaten.
That ride-or-die friend that just cannot be beaten.
They tell you to drive carefully and text when you’re home.
They add color to life when it turns monochrome.
They listen; hold space.
They offer care and grace.

But love is not *every* person.

Love is a thing. A reminder of hope.
A hug in order to cope.
Love is hot chocolate with marshmallows on top.
That teddy bear when the tears won’t stop.

But love is not *every* thing.
In fact, love is so rarely the thing by itself,
Love is the feeling you get from that thing on the shelf.

Love is a clusterfuck of emotions.
Love can be happy. Love can be sad.
Love can be angry. Love can be mad.
Love is confusion. Love is irrational.
Love is calm. Love is magical.
Love is joy. Love is pain.
Love can be all of these at the same
time.

Love is unconditional. But love sets boundaries.
Love is love, even if the sound varies.
It is freely given, without limits.
Love is how we survive all of these minutes.

Prompt: “Love of any type”
Requester: Mountain Shade Village “Crafternoon Monthly Challenge”.
Request method: Discord.
Author is Vampyre Bytes (aka Sean Prunka)
Copyright 2024 Sean Prunka. All rights reserved.

Author notes: There’s more that I wanted to write, and some of it used to even be on the same page, but I took the ideas and thoughts and started giving them shape, the other thoughts didn’t belong here. I may have to do a separate entry for the rest of the thoughts. Also, this one feels like it wants to be recited, so I might lean into that as well.