Early morning questions

What is love if not
           a place of kindness
a time and a place
           a disposition to care
one for another
           not a hard silent
inhospitable terrain
           or a sour tongue

Is it too much
           to ask for clarity of the heart
to cut through the myths
           and fantasies
how else shall we know
           the sheep from the wolves
There is virtue too in love
           that speaks only of the truth
seeks only to give of itself
           recognises the sanctity
of the kiss and the sacredness
           of the consensual bond

John Lyons