John Akpata: What Do You Know About Love

she looked at me
she looked into me
she put a pause button on the entire universe and she looked right through me
what do you know about love
what do i know about love
i closed my eyes i turned my face away
what do i know about love
what could i possibly say
didn’t you and i just finish making love
didn’t you and i naturally unify our bodies together beautifully
with skin slapping together like a symphony
out of a desire that has existed for years mutually
flirtations have existed opportunistically like
i’m sitting on a bench in a park writing a poem
you are sitting on a blanket reading a book under a tree
you catch me shooting glances at you
and i catch you shooting glances at me
and you catch me shooting smiles at you
and i catch you shooting smiles at me
our eyes meet
you smile i smile
i stand to approach
you gather your things and you quickly walk away
the very next day
i’m chilling in the club with my homies
you come up to me you stand in my space
you look in my eyes you smile at my face you say nothing
and then you quickly walk away
do you have any idea how much i fell in love with you
every single one of those moments
on every single one of those days
and you are asking me this most dangerous question in my bed of all places where you lay
glowing and glistening like a goddess displayed
what do i know about love
well obviously not enough
not nearly enough not nearly enough
in other parts of the world
there are different modes for love
different concepts for love
different constructs for love
different notions for love
and even though the french and italian languages are known as romance languages
in arabic
there are over 100 different words for love
over 100 different words for love
so what do i really know about love
not enough
not nearly enough not nearly enough
the youraba the ibo the myan the anka the cherokee the arawak the blackfoot the hindu
all of those people who memorized their tribal lore
they had thousands of words for love
thousands of words for love
thousands upon thousands upon thousands of words for love
so what do i really know about love
not enough
not nearly enough not nearly enough
in other parts of the world whether it is
north america south america the european or asian or african nations
a little boy
a little boy
he will rise with the sun
he will pick up a gun
he will go out into the world and do what has to be done
so he can make money
so he can buy food
to feed his family because
he loves them
and he has no other options
so what am i supposed to say to him
i get down on my hands and knees and meditate and pray for them
i hope that god and love can come and rescue them
but i’ve never done what he’s done
i never carried no gun
not for love not for money not for any one
so what do i really really really know about love
she looked at me
she looked into me
she put a pause button on the entire universe and she looked right through me
what do you know
about love