Love of the Skim Milk Variety

Okay, so one of the things I love about my students and the school where I work is our poetry club.  I love that every other Thursday, students want to spend at least an hour (usually more like an hour and a half) reading their favorite poems, original poems, and offering constructive feed back.  Poetry is, after all, one of my very most favorite things!  It's also great because it challenges me to share my poetry with people in person (rather than simply via a blog).

So, after all that, let me share the poem I wrote and then read at poetry club today.

Love of the Skim Milk Variety

Love
. . . just ain't love
when it's of the skim milk variety
almost transparent
resembling the taste of love
but lacking the substance
taking love's place on the refrigerator shelf
but somehow leaving it empty and
unsatiated.
the poorest of substitutes
for the whole milk kind of love
an impostor
but worse
because it's so close to the real thing
that people drink it anyway.

Love
. . . just ain't love
when it's of the skim milk variety
But that's all you seem to find these days
unless you know how to wait
and wait patiently
for the good stuff to come alone

Love
. . . just ain't love when its of the skim milk variety
and baby,
I'm done.

I need the real
. . .unhomogonized. . .
. . . unpasturized. . .
. . . unadulterated. . .
kind of love.

Or nothing at all.