young love is hopeful. young love
has watched too many movies,
read too many romance novels,
seen one too many shows
where love conquers all
by sheer willpower.
young love is not realistic.
young love doesn’t know
how passion and trust can die
a slow and agonizing death
of starvation by distance –
when absence makes the heart
grow colder, not fonder –
or founder in the depths
of a morass of self-loathing,
rotting by degrees despite
all efforts to save it.
it’s not pretty.
it’s the opposite of romantic.
no matter how much
you think you love each other,
the relationship can die on you
and become an albatross
around both your necks.
unless the circumstances
are just right, and there are no
obstacles in your path,
young love is setting itself up
for a world of hurt.
I’m no longer young. I’ve seen love
come and go, and I have
the scars to prove it.
can you really blame me
for wanting to spare us both that fate?
R. Brookes McKenzie 