I looked love in the face
and it was not perfect,
for it had scars and wrinkles,
marks of tiredness and despair,
and tracks where the tears
had run dry and the stains remained.

I looked love in the face and
there was innocence there, hidden
beneath shame and pain, in a half-smile
that might suggest something like hope,
and it came out amongst oppression
to be the divinity where there is no god.

 

13/6/2024