Illinois Verse: Love is love

Ray looks during Valentine’s month.

A Lovely Month

Frosty air carries good vibes on the wind
Every spring, things perk up around here
Bring it on, I say; bring on the awakening
Ready to face whatever comes through to
Us, who have the strength to keep faithful
A lovely month for the ones who possess
Real and pure unconditional love for you
You and me, me and you, you and others

About This Poem:

The LGBT community has this saying that “Love Is Love,” which means that love goes beyond trivial things such as appearance, gender, orientation, and more. I’m choosing to bring this up because I think this should be the focus for this month. Many people have their minds on love this month because of Valentines Day, but I’d like to challenge your mindset. It’s because that kind of mentality is just one way of thinking about love. So let’s focus on “Love Is Love” this month, ok?

Love Is Love

The message on my Tpshirt
Or should I say LGBT-shirt?
I can take the shirt off when
Ever I need to do the laundry
But I can’t get it out of mind
Stuck in my head and heart
“Love Is Love” is inside me

“Love Is Love” is inside me
The unconditional love in me
Something i can’t wash out or
Remove from my core being
It’s because it’s not a blemish
The one good thing I do have
Despite all of the other stains

Despite all of the other stains
I still can give and receive love
And when I give and receive it
“Love Is Love” is inside of you
And you give and receive love
And “Love Is Love” is in them
And they give and receive love

And they give and receive love
And you give and receive love
And I give and receive the love
“Love Is Love” is living in us
Because we wear pure hearts
On our sleeves there could be
Love to prove our existence

Love to prove our existence
And love to serve as a guide
To sew the rest of existence
Our love’ll go on without us
Towards the next generation
Like a hand-me-down T-shirt
A shirt saying “Love Is Love”

About This Poem:

When I was trying to decide what to write about this month, I looked around my room for clues. The answer, I found, was in my dresser. This theme of “Love Is Love” comes to you courtesy of the shirts that I have bearing the message. I wanted to write about “Love Is Love” specifically because it’s something that is not only near and dear to me, but also might be near and dear to you as well. So here’s to “Love Is Love.”

Love Is Love Part 2

It’s not just a message on a shirt, I say
And it’s not just a message in a poem
I preach “Love Is Love” is the way
So that my heart must not roam

I am preaching of a love that is pure
One without care for trivial matters
Because I think love is the cure
For this world’s dire clatter

But how do we practice what we preach?
I’m still working on giving myself love
So many people I have yet to teach
People that I think I am above

Still, my heart remains for those
That don’t let their hearts close

About This Poem:

When I was writing the first “Love Is Love” poem, I was debating over the structure of the poem. I didn’t know whether to make it long or short, rhyming or unrhyming, and etc. Thinking back on it, I really wanted to make the first one into a sonnet, but I didn’t have the space to do it that way with what I wanted to say. So what ended up happening was that I ended up writing several “Love Is Love” poems with different structures to see what worked the best. Perhaps there will be others that I will publish, but for now, here are just two of what I came up with.

Love Wins

At the end of the day, love wins
Even when you’’re the most tired
Love wins above troubles within

Love wins when given a spin
When dedicated and hardwired
At the end of the day, love wins

Even when you’re stretched thin
Love wins when you’ve perspired
Love wins above troubles within

Flowing like sweat on your skin
If you’ve put in the work required
At the end of the day, love wins

Throw your worries into the bin
Take care of what is undesired
Love wins above troubles within

The reason why I can grin
What makes me feel inspired
At the end of the day, love wins
Love wins above troubles within

About This Poem:

Emily Dickenson once wrote that “a word is dead when it is said, some say / I say it just begins to live that day.” The words that live in me are “Love Is Love” and “Love Wins,” words that are probably very familiar to you in our community. I’d like to leave you thinking this month about what those words mean to you, so I have shared what they mean to me.And as always, take care of yourself as I am trying to do the exact same. See you next month!

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