I have decided
that nothing matters
more than love.

Not money, not fame,
not esteem,
not pressure on rocks.

Not gravity or death
or basketball, or medicines
to help you sleep.

Just love. Love
is something that
makes your life better.

It is the elixir.
It is penicillin
before penicillin.

It’s in the air.
that you breathe.
It’s in the breath.

It saves,
and it lives
largely on screens.

It exists,
and it heals.
It lies dormant

in all of us,
but it is such
a powerful feeling.

It is the truth.
it is the reason.
It is why we

wait on hold, go
to stores, shovel snow,
mop floors,

visit nurses,
tie shoes
and why we kiss.

Love is the elixir,
dormant in some,
overflowing in others.

A powerful instinct
in all of us.
Love is everything.

Even God
does not exist
without love.
 
 

Jason Wright is the editor and founder of Oddball Magazine. His column appears weekly. His third book, Train of Thought 2: Almost Home is available now at the Oddball Book Store.