What is love? What is love?
“Baby, don’t hurt me”? No
That’s a song
That’s not love

There are a lot of songs
About love
However, none are very informative
Nor specific on the characteristics
Of love itself.

Aches in hearts
Hearts in throats
Butterflies in stomachs
Dizziness in heads
Are these love?
No! These are symptoms!

You can make love
So I guess it’s some kind of dish
But no one will tell me the ingredients
Or what you do with them
Do you stir them
Or sauté?
Are they grilled or baked or raw?
Where are the recipes for making love?
I have Googled them
And the search results
Make no sense

Is love something you need?
Or is it something you want?
Is it a right or a privilege?

It seems like something other people
have, but
Do I have love?
Would I know if I did?
Maybe I do, but I haven’t realized
I’ve just taken it for granted.

“Love sucks!”
They say
“Love is wondrous!”
They also say
They have to get their opinions straight
This is why They are not in politics
And why I have trust issues.

No, but seriously, guys, what is love?
Like, now I’m really curious.
And no more of this wishy-washy stuff
This ushy-gushy-mushy stuff
This “it’s that feeling in your heart” stuff
Or this “you’ll know it if you’re smart” stuff

I want solid concrete science stuff
Scholarly thesis lecture stuff
Hypothesis conclusion stuff.
Ah, screw it, no one knows this stuff.
And I’ve used the word “stuff” enough.

Love must be indefinable
Like that dark matter stuff
Stephen Hawking was talking about.

But no!
In all our years of history
Math, science, anthropology
You honestly think that I’ll believe
That love is still a mystery?

Oh wait, right here, a dictionary …
“An intense feeling of deep affection.”

Well, okay then,
That wasn’t hard.
Problem solved, guys,
Moving on.