Love?

How it toys with us.
Makes utter fools of us –
Flogs, whips, and spanks us.

Listen to the voices of the unloved
As they surge and retreat
Into the black of night.

Hushed whispers uttered in
Empty rooms and lonely beds,
The hunger of love unattained,
Rushing through our fingers,
Unstoppable,
Fleeting,
Gone.

And yet…

When we touch this love
It burns us with its bright flame;
It punishes.
It consumes.

And yet…

We must have it.
It rules us –
Uses,
Abuses,
Misuses.

And yet…

Why do we always
Crawl back for more?