"You're just a teenager," you say,
Visibly proud of your own maturity,
"And when you're that age
You don't know what love is."
Oh no.
Of course not.
I wouldn't know.
Since when have I experienced love?
Only once,
And surely it wasn't true love.
It was only wonderful
Only beautiful
Only passionate--
It only came from the very depths of my soul.
Can you boast as much
When you and him go back and forth
Screaming and fighting
Or just ignoring each other?
When was the last time you listened?
When was the last time you said, "I love you?"
But you're an adult and I'm a child;
Naturally you would know
What it means to love someone,
And naturally I would not.
"Love is patient," you say,
As if you knew.
"Love hopes, love endures."
Haven't I endured?
Haven't I hoped against hope?
Haven't I waited and waited,
Waited till it drove me mad?
Haven't I looked into his eyes,
Barely able to see past my tears and his,
And whispered one last time, "I love you,"
And heard him softly echo the words?
Haven't I cried myself to sleep
Every night since they took him from me?
But I suppose I was deceiving myself:
I don't know what love is--
That knowledge is yours, and yours alone.
But still I wonder:
What have you endured?
When have you been torn away
From the one who meant the world to you?
You met, you dated, you married;
And that was it.
Was love even part of the deal?
While the two of you argue and criticize,
Flinging accusations,
Saying, "If you loved me,
You would do such and such,"
I sit alone in the darkness,
With only my thoughts of him.
Which of us truly knows what love is?
"Love is faithful," you say,
As if I didn't know.
Haven't I been faithful?
Haven't I turned down countless others?
Haven't I stayed true to him,
Even when all heaven and earth tried to sway me?
When has your love stood the test?
One argument, one "better" man,
And you are ready to leave him.
"Love makes sacrifices," you say,
In all your wisdom.
Haven't I made sacrifices?
Haven't I defied all authority to be with him?
Wouldn't I sooner walk through hell itself
Than have him suffer?
Would you lay down your life for the one you love?
If you truly love him, that is.
You slam the door in his face;
You complain about him under your breath.
Now just you look me in the eyes--
I who have hoped and yearned and dreamed and prayed--
Just you look me in the eyes,
And tell me I don't know what love is.
