Four Letter Word

I said the word.
Love. I couldn’t take it back.
Or explain it wasn’t like that.
I think I heard his heart stop beating.
I felt the muscles in his body sink like lead balloons.
I heard his mind close and his heart slam shut.
I forgot love means different things to different people.
Maybe for him love was frozen, heavy as lead,
closed off and shut tight.
It made me sad because
for me, love is illuminating light,
like drinking sunshine.
It doesn’t sink; it lifts.
It is friendship,
caring and affectionate
for no other reason than sharing the heart and soul of who and what we really are: LOVE!