Remember how much easier it
was to undress than love?
Our infidelities taught us what
we had was less than love.
The Mother of Exiles: “Give me your tired,
your poor, your huddled masses.”
Today your sons and daughters
would rather make arrests than love.
Patriotism is just safety in numbers.
Lay down your flags.
No nation ever waged a war
more dangerous than love.
I weeped in your lap, my tears
clamoring to win your pity.
But your heart was in your phone.
You would rather digress than love.
For hyperactive boys and girls,
prescription Ritalin.
Why deal with it? Much more
efficient to suppress than love.
Political rant: obsession
as all-American as porn.
The raging Twitter troll
would rather self-caress than love
Beware the Great Commandment,
Eugene. Loving God is easy.
You know your feeling toward
your fellow man is less than love.
— Eugene A. Melino
Photo by author: Cooper Square Lights, East Village, New York City, September 2018.