Love

 Love, 

no matter 

how much I may dislike it, 

so often presents itself

in the most unsuspecting places! 

On the moth eaten matress

on the floor

of a dingy room

of an old friend's house; 

for instance, 

where you could lie,

for hours,

just staring at the ceiling, 

smoking, 

talking, 

lamenting lost loves, 

ranting about mean colleagues, 

nasty neighbours, 

rude kids, fussy parents, 

life ... 

So often, 

on a rusty bench

of an insufficiently lit 

public park, 

its lawns unmowed, 

hedges untrimmed, 

paths unkempt, 

turns and corners stinking, 

yet, 

on a rusty bench, 

or a dusty track, 

in the rubbing of shoulders 

against shoulders

of a dear old acquaintance

from the park, 

walking besides ... 

Love, such an imp, 

often 

in a hospital cafeteria, 

on a plastic chair, 

in a silent corner, 

in an unexpected smile,

slided across the dirty table top, 

by an unrelated stranger, 

Who? A fellow attendant 

from the paediatric ICU!  

Love, so cruel, 

so lame, 

so unthinking, 

to present itself 

even in the company 

of a quarelling spouse, 

in an unshed tear

hinging in a corner 

of their eyes, 

just when 

you are about to 

win the argument! 

aah, how much 

I hate it then! 

Love, such a cruel old imposter, 

Love, such a naive little baby!