I was inspired to write this poem when I looked around and noticed how people always search for reasons to love others. Eventually these reasons fade away and all that is left is a smoky fireplace with no heat to spare. The major thrust of this poem is that we love others as God loves us not based on the superficial reasons we have outlined because if He had to look for reasons to love us, we’d be dead by now. Read and be empowered. Happy New Month!

Why do I still Love You?

I highlight the reasons I love you
With my favorite pink highlighter
Your laughter echoes through my room,
Sweeter than my favorite ringtone.

I love how you talk,
How you walk,
With so much confidence,
Your entire being exudes elegance

Your smile stands out,
Like a flower in full bloom
Your suits are so many
Most of which are Armani,
I can’t even spot a crease,
Because you move with so much ease,

With no broom in your hands,you swept me off my feet!
Together we jumped the broom
And hung our happy memories in the hallway,
Like perfect artworks at a gallery opening.

We are as logs of wood burning in a fireplace
So fierce, water can’t quench us,
So hot, intruders dare not separate us,
We burn as one
Till just one flame is left..

We are both tired of fanning the flames
The love colored glasses have been taken off my face,
It feels like we are in another phase,
Now all I see are the extra chunks of flesh
Making the six packs disappear into one big belly.

I’m watching as your well chiselled face becomes saggy with age,
The sound of your snoring keeps me up at night,
Its like you’re playing the clarion,
The way you chew nuts
Sometimes drives me nuts!

Every little gesture drives me insane
Especially when you leave your shoes idling on the freshly vacuumed floral carpet!
Like a revolting puppet
The stench of your laundry leaves my face with an ugly crease.
Whatever happened to the washer?
This you did to get me slighted I suspect!

I’m stuck in the ground floor of my fairytale castle,
The one I built with my fantasies
The spell has worn off
Feelings like smoke fade off
What is left is the whiff of what once was. The emotions I wore on my sleeves are long gone
Its like I’m wearing sleeveless

Passion has burned out like the last candle in the sanctuary,
I can’t find the reasons why I love you anymore

I watch as the last flame dies in the fireplace
The whole room is dark and smoky…
I take one last look at what I thought was my perfect lovestory,
As I turn my back
My mind is brought back to the right track

God didn’t have any reason to love me
Oh mere dust that I am!
Yet He loved me enough to send His only son
To die for me!
Such love leaves me awestruck
How can I say I love Him when all I do is hate you?
How can I say I love Him when I’m yet selfconceited and overly self conscious!

Deeper than the ephemerals my love should be
It’s less about you, but more of me
It’s less about us, but more of Him
This is no Cinderella world I realize
Now His grace to love I’ll optimize

Why do I love you for the umpteenth time I ask,
I have no reasons to outline
But I choose to love without a decline
Even as He loved us, so will I love you
He said you’ve been created in His image and likeness
So why would my likeness for you rest in your Picasa edited images?
Who are we kidding?
There’s no man that is flawless
No matter how much we brush up and edit our images!

I’ll forever love you not because of what you are or what you have
I’ll always love you because He loves me without a reason!

Together we fan the flames back to life
And we’ll sit on this rocking chair while the heat keeps us warm in our old age,
Its not a perfect fairytale but we’ll live together to tell the tales.

 Mfon Etuk, 2014