and then test my skepticism with a Love poem

like Shahid’s refugee tasting debris of Belief on his tongue

if Love, /ləv/, is anything

other than

a cultural object systematically sculpted by a social world

to sell Twilight alongside Faulkner,

if Love precedes Hallmark and candied almonds

and a false motive for growing old,

if Love does more than romanticize Senior Prom

I promise I will write about Love.

let me try it.

if I get those tingly fingertips

and the swarm of butterflies in my crotch

if it stays for more than a week

I will write about Love.