I’ve seen love shine.

I’ve seen it light fires

In the eyes

Of the hopeful,

The lonely,

The broken,

The weary.

I’ve seen it make friends

Of enemies,

And lovers

Of friends,

Families of lovers,

And keepers of thieves.

 

I’ve seen love kill.

I’ve seen it break

And mar

And trample

And ruin,

Take the soul from the soulful,

And the faith from the devout.

I’ve seen it tear a man open

And spill his insides

Out.

 

I’ve seen love heal.

I’ve seen it reach across

Continents

And ages,

Pick people up

With the wisdom

Of sages.

I’ve seen it whisper

And breathe

New life

Into dead hearts,

Bring sun

To the darkness,

And peace

To the night.

 

I’ve seen love conquer.

I’ve seen it rage against hate,

Push down walls

With flowers,

Sign treaties,

Change fate.

I’ve seen it bridge

Great divides

Between men

And millennia,

Spill light

Into the shadows

Of misconception

And fear.

 

I’ve seen love last

Through all of this

And then some,

Through rage

And riots,

Through times darker

Than space,

Through trauma

And peril

Both personal

And global

Inside

And out

Of hearts

And minds

That have faltered

And grown forgetful

Of its power.

 

I’ve seen love

As warm as the sun

As ruthless as death

A salve

And a sword

Ageless

And infinite.

 

I’ve seen love,

And love has seen me.