Love and hurt

It is better to love and hurt
than not to love

If love hurts
then let me love
and let me hurt
rather than not hurt
and not love

If love is loss
then let me lose
to lose and yet to love
is less of a loss
than not to love

To love is to be
to hurt is to be
to lose is to be
in love
and, yes, in hurt and in loss
yet not loving the hurt
nor loving the loss
but accepting
the hurt and the loss
as enough
if this indeed
should be the cost
of having love

It is better to love and hurt
than not to love

Edward Rhodes (2014)