Today
a not-so-saintly day,
you will be asked
“got luv?”
I suppose what you think of love
will determine your answer.

Are you repulsed by the flock
of single women,
insisting that they are happy to spend the day
with their BFF
rather than a significant other?

Do you cringe at the women
sickly sweet in love,
with their
XOXOs and
URS 4EVER and
Mad 4 Yous,
all typed across an unfeeling screen?

Perhaps you do.
But perhaps you also know that
love can be found in the chilled,
dark,
aching night,
when the sky is cloaked
in a blanket of clouds
and loneliness.

I know that love does many wondrous things:
it leads you to where it is warm,
where it is home;
it involves flying, and falling,
though hopefully no screaming is involved
when you plummet;
it fills you up
with nothing but sighing
and hoping
and everything else.

Whether you think love is what prompts a heart
to beat with its awesome power,
or love is something made for plastic harpies
shrieking “my hero!”
that is your choice.
But I,
at risk of rejection and finality,
must ask you,
because I do believe in love,
but above that
I believe in hope,
do you,
indeed,

“Got luv?”