EASY TO LOVE

         It is easy to love
        When the reciprocal is desired.
        That is Will.
        To love without expectations
        Requires Good Will.
        The saying of Love
        With expectations
        Casts a hollow Echo
        Of futility
        And madness
        Against a stony wall
        Whose very stones
        Cannot be dented with CHESED.
        It is a barren thing,
        And its sterility
        Leaves an unkind mark,
        Tho' he who casts it,
        For all the world,
        Be filled with good intent;
        Nevertheless
        It leads down to Hell
        Where demons tempt and torment
        Those unwary souls
        Backslidden in their resolves,
        Weak in the affirmations,
        Undone by their own vanities.
        What has love to do with anything
        When it produces no fruit?
        It is either tasteless
        Or the taste of it is bitter
        On the mind
        And on the soul.
        Such love,
        Tho' well wished,
        When it is received
        Leads to self abuse.

        April - May 1997