Diana Darby ** "I V" ** Intravenous

Love Loaf

How do you keep love fresh?
Do you wrap it tight in cellophane
like a loaf of bread and stick it in the freezer
to keep it safe?
No, to do that would leave it hard
and dried out.
Do you place it on the counter to mold and decay in the sun?
Or do you put it in a Tupperware container where no air
can touch it and it slowly loses all its life?
Do you crumble it in your hands and scatter it on the blacktop
for all the birds to eat
and fly away with?
Do you pick at it,
taking only the parts you like and leaving what doesn’t suit your illusions behind?
No,
the best way to keep love fresh is to slice it
one glorious slice at a time
and then give it away
one glorious slice at a time.
It won’t have time to get old.
And the lives it touches will be filled with such overwhelming
sweetness
they’ll have no choice but to pass it on.