Two familiar words. Experiences of what is referred to as love creates these words. I believe the sad truth is you can’t have one without the other.
A summer evening’s heat creates a lightning streak. The heavy dampness in the air is almost oppressive. And then the air is transformed. You feel the gravity of another person. You can’t find your footing, you’re swept up into their atmosphere. Weightlessness lifts you into someone else’s world, and you surprisingly, happily, float. The air becomes thinner, it’s harder to breathe. How can you live without this person? You become dependent. Their very presence is what maintains your existence. The lightning bolt that brought you together creates a storm of passion, of fantasy and reality no longer exists.
And then just as suddenly as it began, a change occurs. Actuality creeps in. A poisonous snake, unexpectedly, slithering, menacingly, creating self doubt, discord, and finally, disbelief. Had it all been a dream, a fantasy? A slow, determined ache begins, clouds appear. But these clouds bring thunder, pelting rain, sleet, and cold. The nonthreatening heat lightning is no longer present. Rain is the liquid reality, drenching your soul with pain. Was the pleasure real? And if it was, was it worth the resulting sorrow?
The Bag Lady 