Love cannot be loaned

[Doreen Peri]

(2004)

Love cannot be loaned
though I have known
a time or two when
it has begged to be
returned after its giving.

Love cannot be borrowed
like a book of verse
from off the shelf,
or forced into renewal
once its term expires.

Love is in and of itself
a gift which must be
nurtured for its living.

Love cannot be loaned
or borrowed;
Love is a hymn, inspired;
an offering of harmony
from heart's
angelic choirs.