my father warned me
to be careful
with my love,
to not say it
unless i truly meant it,
to dole it out in
parts
because caution
was his motto

i told him i do mean it
fully
every time i tell a friend
those three words
and with the family, too
i give out my love
to those who deserve it
(and yes, some who may not
but still probably need it)
because love is not
a finite resource–
it’s an energy
that bounces around the universe
sparkling through humans
and non-humans alike
(don’t come at me
and don’t tell me dogs
don’t love/
or any pet
for that matter/
or the earth
to continue turning/
and the sun to continue shining/
and the breeze to continue blowing/
even tho we
constantly
take them all for granted
and destroy them like they weren’t
the finite resource
my father tried
to convince me of
with love)

love
is healing
love
is what we need
now
love
can’t fix everything
but it is a
very good
beginning

so
i love you
and i mean it.

(this poem was inspired by
the kinship worldview
a philosophy for living
that most, if not all
Indigenous communities share
and i learned about
from a book
that you should read too,
called “Restoring The Kinship Worldview”
that may give you something
to meditate
about)