What is Love?

Greeks, adoring words,

had many for ‘love’,

thus “What are Love”

might ring truer

than the title above.

Agape, unconditional, sacrificial,

with naught in return,

heroic—Christlike, give til it hurts;

Eros, erotica, love’s physical side,

Cupid and arrows, lust and desire;

Storge, familial, as parent to child,

kinship with relatives, though distantly mild;

Mania, obsessive, jealous, or mad:

an unhealthy facet of love that’s all ‘grab’;

Ludus, friends with benefits, playful, a game,

courtship, non-committal–hope your date feels the same!

Pragma, with logic, obligation, and duty;

Philia, neighborly, affectionate friendship, not bootie;

Philautia, hubris, self love, self-esteem;

on the flip side, narcissism can be down-right mean.

These loves, interlocked, are what makes life sing;

‘What IS love’ you’ll agree, is too trifling a thing!